Displaying options, assigning notification, ignoring messages, and simultaneous user interface displays in a messaging application

ABSTRACT

An electronic device with a touch-sensitive surface and display can execute a messaging application. In the messaging application, swipe options can be displayed for messages and threads. Swipe options correspond to actions that can be taken on the messages or threads. Messages and threads can be associated with notification rules as well as be ignored. Composition interfaces and messages can be displayed simultaneously in the messaging application. The messaging application can display a conversation view of a message thread with a common header that can include subject information and names of participants in the threads. The messaging application allows for adding and removing participants to the conversation view. The messaging application allows for grouping search results from a search of messages using a search term. The grouping can be based on the location of the search term within the messages.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/700,039, titled “Displaying Options, Assigning Notification, IgnoringMessages, and Simultaneous User Interface Displays In A MessagingApplication,” filed Apr. 29, 2015, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/006,211, titled “Displaying Options,Assigning Notification, Ignoring Messages, and Simultaneous UserInterface Displays in A Messaging Application”, filed Jun. 1, 2014, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of Technology

The embodiments herein generally relate to electronic devices with touchscreen displays. More particularly, the embodiments relate to userinterfaces and gestures on a touch screen display.

2. Background

As portable electronic devices become more compact and the functions ofthe devices increase, it is increasingly difficult to design a userinterface that allows users to easily interact with the multifunctionaldevices. This challenge is particularly significant for handheldportable devices, which have much smaller screens than desktop or laptopcomputers. This situation is unfortunate because the user interface isthe gateway through which users receive not only content but alsoresponses to user actions or behaviors, including user attempts toaccess a device's features, tools, and functions.

To improve user interaction with portable electronic devices, someportable devices include more pushbuttons that are each associated witha particular functionality, assign multiple functions to eachpushbutton, or use complex menu systems to allow users to access thevarious functionalities of the devices. These conventional userinterfaces often result in complicated key sequences and menuhierarchies that must be memorized by the user.

SUMMARY

An electronic device with a touch-sensitive surface and display canexecute a messaging application. A method for displaying swipe optionsin the messaging application comprises displaying a list of informationcorresponding to email messages. A contact is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface of the electronic device and continuous movementof the contact is detected in a first direction, without breakingcontact with the touch-sensitive surface, at a location on the displaycorresponding to a message of the plurality of email messages. One ormore parameters of the movement of the contact are determined and, inaccordance with a determination that a parameter of the movement meets afirst criterion, user interface elements representing actions to betaken on the email message are displayed. Parameters include distance,rate, and any combination thereof and the first and second criterion canbe a threshold distance, a threshold rate, or any combination thereof.The user interface elements representing actions can be selected and theaction corresponding to the selected user interface element is appliedto the email message, subsequently received email messages of the emailmessage, the email thread associated with the email message, or anycombination thereof. The user interface elements can be displayed byvisually sliding out from a side of the email message. In accordancewith a determination that the parameter of the movement meets a secondcriterion different from the first criterion, a default action isperformed on the email message.

A method for, within a messaging application, associating an emailmessage or subsequently received email messages with notification rulescomprises, in response to receiving an action to compose a message,displaying a composition interface in the messaging application. Withinthe composition interface, a selectable user interface element isdisplayed that, when selected, changes notification rules for replies tothe message. For the selectable user interface element can be a symbolsuch as a bell. A contact on the touch-sensitive surface at a locationon the display corresponding to the selectable user interface elementwithin the composition interface is detected and the contact indicativeof selection of the selectable user interface element. In response todetection of the selection, changing an appearance of the selectableuser interface element within the composition interface to indicate theactivation of a notification rule that a subsequently received messagein a conversation thread corresponding to the message will trigger aconversation notification. For example, the changed appearance of theselectable user interface element is visually distinguished from itsprevious state (e.g., outline of a bell) in a graphical indication suchas color, size, and location. In subsequently received messages, anotification rule can display a VIP indicator, indicative of selectionof the selectable user interface element, adjacent to the subsequentlyreceived messages. In addition, another notification rule displaysconversation notifications, including push notifications, whensubsequently received messages are received.

A method for ignoring a message or subsequently received messagescomprises displaying information corresponding to a plurality ofmessages in a messaging application. An input is received at a locationon the display corresponding to a displayed message and the inputindicates deletion of the displayed message. For example, the locationcan include a selectable user interface element associated with a trashoption. In response to receiving the input, selectable user interfaceelements representing deletion actions to be taken on subsequentmessages in a conversation thread corresponding to the displayed messageare displayed proximate to the location of the displayed message. Forexample, the selectable user interface elements are displayed in asheet. In another embodiment, a prompt is displayed in response toreceiving the input and can include options for trashing the displayedmessage or displaying additional deletion actions. In response toselection of one of the plurality of selectable user interface elements,the displayed message is deleted and a deletion action is set forsubsequently received messages in the conversation thread.

A method for displaying composition interfaces along with email messagescomprises displaying a first composition interface in a messagingapplication where the first composition interface includes a firstmessage. While displaying the first composition interface, an action isreceived to compose a second message. In response to receiving theaction, a second composition interface is displayed, the firstcomposition interface is displayed in a first portion and the secondcomposition interface is displayed in a second portion. For example, thefirst and second portions are displayed below a list of informationcorresponding to a plurality of messages in the messaging application.Alternatively, the first and second composition interfaces are displayedin a third portion below the list of information corresponding to theplurality of messages in the messaging application.

A method for displaying composition interfaces along with email messagescomprises in response to a selection of a conversation view in amessaging application that is configured to display a plurality of emailmessages in the conversation view the following steps. One step includesidentifying in the plurality of email messages a conversation threadthat comprises email messages from the plurality of email messages.Another step includes determining information common to the emailmessages in the conversation thread. The common information comprises aconversation title based at least in part on a subject of at least oneor more email messages in the conversation thread. Next steps includedisplaying a header comprising the common information in a headerportion of the conversation view, and displaying, visually distinguishedfrom the header area, a message area that comprises two or more of theemail messages in the conversation thread. Each of the two or more emailmessages comprises sender information and content information.

A method for displaying composition interfaces along with email messagescomprises receiving a search query that comprises at least one term forsearching email messages in a messaging application. In response toreceiving the search query, a step of the method includes determiningwhether one or more email messages in the messaging application includethe at least one search term. Another step includes determining, foreach of the one or more email messages in the messaging applicationincluding the search term, a field where the search term is found withinthe email message. When determining the field, the search term canappear in one or more of a plurality of different, predeterminedlocations. The method further includes displaying one or more emailmessage query result groups, each of which is based on a differentpredetermined location and comprises the one or more email messages inthe messaging application including the search term in the correspondingpredetermined location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various described embodiments,reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, inconjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numeralsrefer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction devicewith a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screenin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface for a multifunctiondevice with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the displayin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates a portrait view of icons for applications of thedevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5B illustrates a mail application view of an email application,according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, 5G, and 5H illustrate a gesture for displaying andclosing swipe options in the email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D, 6E, 6F, and 6G illustrate a gesture for displayingand closing an expanded swipe option in the email application, accordingto one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, and 7E illustrate a gesture for displaying andclosing a swipe option in the email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 8A illustrates a gesture for displaying a sheet for an option inthe swipe options in the email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8B illustrates a sheet for an option in the swipe options in theemail application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, and 9F illustrate pages in an application viewof a settings application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for displaying one or more swipeoptions in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, and 11E illustrate states of a notificationelement for email threads in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 11F illustrates a gesture for associating a notification elementwith a new email in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a push notification for an email thread associatedwith a notification element, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D illustrate a gesture for associating anotification element with an existing email thread in an emailapplication, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, and 14E illustrate a gesture forde-associating a notification element with an existing email thread inan email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method for associating a notificationelement with an email thread in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 16A illustrates a gesture for selecting an expanded swipe option inan email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 16B illustrates a prompt in response to selection of an expandedswipe option in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 16C illustrates a sheet for additional options associated with theexpanded swipe option in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 17A, 17B, 17C, and 17D illustrate pages in an application view ofa settings application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method for ignoring an email thread in anemail application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate a draft UI in an email application,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 19C illustrates overlaid draft emails in an email application,according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 19D and 19E illustrate a gesture for minimizing overlaid draftemails in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C illustrate a gesture for removing an overlaiddraft email in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 21A, 21B, and 21C illustrate a gesture for expanding a minimizedoverlaid draft email in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate a gesture for expanding an existing emailthread in an email application with an overlaid draft email, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 23A illustrates a landscape view of an icon view of a computingdevice, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 23B illustrates an application view of an email application,according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 23C, 23D, and 23E illustrate an overlaid draft email and overlaiddraft emails in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 23F and 23G illustrate an overlaid draft email and overlaid draftemails in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 23H and 23I illustrate an overlaid draft email and overlaid draftemails in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate a gesture for minimizing overlaid draftemails in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 25A, 25B, and 25C illustrate a gesture for removing an overlaiddraft email in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 26A, 26B, and 26C illustrate a gesture for expanding a minimizedoverlaid draft email in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate a gesture for expanding an existing emailthread in an email application with an overlaid draft email, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a method for displaying message compositioninterfaces in an email thread in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 29A-E illustrate gestures and an exemplary user interfaces forviewing an email thread in a conversation view with a common headerincluding subject and participant information, according to someembodiments.

FIGS. 30A and 30B illustrate gestures and an exemplary user interfacesfor viewing an email thread in a conversation view with a common headerincluding subject and participant information, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 31 illustrate a toggle option between conversation and message viewof an email thread in an email application, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method for viewing an email thread in anemail application, according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 33A-E illustrates gestures and an exemplary user interfaces forgrouping and displaying results from searching email messages in anemail application, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of a method for grouping and displaying resultsfrom searching email messages in an email application, according to oneembodiment.

The figures depict, and the detail description describes, variousnon-limiting embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilledin the art will readily recognize from the following discussion thatalternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated hereinmay be employed without departing from the principles described herein.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Many electronic devices have graphical user interfaces that include alarge number of content units such as electronic messages, photos, audiofiles, video files, text, hyperlinks, icons, control elements, and/orvisual representations thereof. Many of these content units haveassociated metadata (e.g., time and/or date stamps, file sizes, authoridentification, status identification, and security settings), which maybe informative to the user. To simplify a user's interaction with userinterfaces containing large numbers of content units, electronic devicesmay display only a subset of all content units and/or associatedmetadata on a display at any one time. A user may need to access contentunits and/or associated metadata contained within a given userinterface, but which are not displayed at that time.

Some methods for accessing additional content units and/or metadataassociated with displayed content units require a sequence of userinputs that navigate in a menu system. For example, with these methods,a user may need to select a user interface object to display a menu. Thedisplayed menu may or may not include a menu option for accessingadditional content units and/or metadata associated with displayedcontent units. When the displayed menu does not include the desired menuoption, the user needs to search through multiple menus and/or sub-menusto find a menu that has the correct menu option. After displaying themenu that has the desired menu option, the user needs to select the menuoption to initiate gaining access to the desired content. Alternatively,an electronic device may, by default, continuously display largernumbers of content units and/or metadata associated with displayedcontent units. This clutters a display and can be distracting for users,which reduces the efficiency of the user when using the device.

In embodiments described below, improved methods for accessingadditional content units present, but not displayed, in a graphical userinterface are achieved by providing user interfaces that allow unlockingof a predefined navigation direction using simple user contacts on atouch-sensitive surface (e.g., where there is a favored navigation axis,but some additional, infrequently accessed, information such as metadatais available in response to navigation in a direction different from thefavored navigation axis). In other embodiments described below, improvedmethods for accessing metadata associated with displayed content unitsare achieved by providing user interfaces that reveal hidden metadataupon detection of simple user inputs, related to traditional navigationinputs, on a touch-sensitive surface. These methods streamline toprocess of accessing additional user interface content units and/ormetadata associated with displayed content units without overlycluttering the user interface display.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Exemplary Devices

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However,it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the variousdescribed embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components,circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not tounnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, theseelements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contactcould be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact couldbe termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of thevarious described embodiments. The first contact and the second contactare both contacts, but they are not the same contact.

The terminology used in the description of the various describedembodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in thedescription of the various described embodiments and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as usedherein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when”or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,”depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or“if [a stated condition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construedto mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upondetecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting[the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.

Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, andassociated processes for using such devices are described. In someembodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as amobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/ormusic player functions. Exemplary embodiments of portable multifunctiondevices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad®devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronicdevices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitivesurfaces (e.g., touch screen displays and/or touch pads), are,optionally, used. It should also be understood that, in someembodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but isa desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch screendisplay and/or a touch pad).

In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface is described. It should beunderstood, however, that the electronic device optionally includes oneor more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physicalkeyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick.

The device typically supports a variety of applications, such as one ormore of the following: a drawing application, a presentationapplication, a word processing application, a website creationapplication, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, agaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, aworkout support application, a photo management application, a digitalcamera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that are executed on the device optionally useat least one common physical user-interface device, such as thetouch-sensitive surface. One or more functions of the touch-sensitivesurface as well as corresponding information displayed on the deviceare, optionally, adjusted and/or varied from one application to the nextand/or within a respective application. In this way, a common physicalarchitecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the deviceoptionally supports the variety of applications with user interfacesthat are intuitive and transparent to the user.

Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices withtouch-sensitive displays. FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustratingportable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive displays 112 inaccordance with some embodiments. Touch-sensitive display 112 issometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience, and is sometimesknown as or called a touch-sensitive display system. Device 100 includesmemory 102 (which optionally includes one or more computer readablestorage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units(CPU's) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audiocircuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem106, other input or control devices 116, and external port 124. Device100 optionally includes one or more optical sensors 164. Device 100optionally includes one or more intensity sensors 165 for detectingintensity of contacts on device 100 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surfacesuch as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100). Device 100optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 167 forgenerating tactile outputs on device 100 (e.g., generating tactileoutputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive displaysystem 112 of device 100 or touchpad 355 of device 300). Thesecomponents optionally communicate over one or more communication busesor signal lines 103.

As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of acontact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure(force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact) on the touchsensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force or pressureof a contact on the touch sensitive surface. The intensity of a contacthas a range of values that includes at least four distinct values andmore typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., at least256). Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (or measured)using various approaches and various sensors or combinations of sensors.For example, one or more force sensors underneath or adjacent to thetouch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measure force atvarious points on the touch-sensitive surface. In some implementations,force measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., aweighted average) to determine an estimated force of a contact.Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally, used todetermine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitive surface.Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on thetouch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of thetouch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto,and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to thecontact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute forthe force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface. Insome implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force orpressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity thresholdhas been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in unitscorresponding to the substitute measurements). In some implementations,the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are convertedto an estimated force or pressure and the estimated force or pressure isused to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded(e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in unitsof pressure).

As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output”refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previousposition of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., atouch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component(e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relativeto a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user withthe user's sense of touch. For example, in situations where the deviceor the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a userthat is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of auser's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacementwill be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding toa perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or thecomponent of the device. For example, movement of a touch-sensitivesurface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally,interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physicalactuator button. In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensationsuch as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement ofa physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surfacethat is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements. Asanother example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally,interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitivesurface, even when there is no change in smoothness of thetouch-sensitive surface. While such interpretations of touch by a userwill be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user,there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a largemajority of users. Thus, when a tactile output is described ascorresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “upclick,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, thegenerated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of thedevice or a component thereof that will generate the described sensoryperception for a typical (or average) user.

It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device, and that device 100 optionally has moreor fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or morecomponents, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangementof the components. The various components shown in FIG. 1A areimplemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both hardware andsoftware, including one or more signal processing and/or applicationspecific integrated circuits.

Memory 102 optionally includes high-speed random access memory andoptionally also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or moremagnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or othernon-volatile solid-state memory devices. Access to memory 102 by othercomponents of device 100, such as CPU 120 and the peripherals interface118, is, optionally, controlled by memory controller 122.

Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and outputperipherals of the device to CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or moreprocessors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets ofinstructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions fordevice 100 and to process data. In some embodiments, peripheralsinterface 118, CPU 120, and memory controller 122 are, optionally,implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104. In some otherembodiments, they are, optionally, implemented on separate chips.

RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, alsocalled electromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 converts electricalsignals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. RF circuitry 108 optionally includes well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. RFcircuitry 108 optionally communicates with networks, such as theInternet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranetand/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, awireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network(MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wirelesscommunication optionally uses any of a plurality of communicationsstandards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited toGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA),high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO),HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPDA), long term evolution (LTE), nearfield communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet messageaccess protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instantmessaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP),Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and PresenceLeveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service(IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitablecommunication protocol, including communication protocols not yetdeveloped as of the filing date of this document.

Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audiointerface between a user and device 100. Audio circuitry 110 receivesaudio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to anelectrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted bymicrophone 113 from sound waves. Audio circuitry 110 converts theelectrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data toperipherals interface 118 for processing. Audio data is, optionally,retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108by peripherals interface 118. In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110also includes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG. 2). The headset jackprovides an interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audioinput/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headsetwith both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input(e.g., a microphone).

I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, suchas touch screen 112 and other input control devices 116, to peripheralsinterface 118. I/O subsystem 106 optionally includes display controller156, optical sensor controller 158, intensity sensor controller 159,haptic feedback controller 161 and one or more input controllers 160 forother input or control devices. The one or more input controllers 160receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices116. The other input control devices 116 optionally include physicalbuttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, sliderswitches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternateembodiments, input controller(s) 160 are, optionally, coupled to any (ornone) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and apointer device such as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG.2) optionally include an up/down button for volumecontrol of speaker 111and/or microphone 113. The one or more buttons optionally include a pushbutton (e.g., 206, FIG. 2).

Touch-sensitive display 112 provides an input interface and an outputinterface between the device and a user. Display controller 156 receivesand/or sends electrical signals from/to touch screen 112. Touch screen112 displays visual output to the user. The visual output optionallyincludes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof(collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some or all ofthe visual output corresponds to user-interface objects.

Touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensorsthat accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact.Touch screen 112 and display controller 156 (along with any associatedmodules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detect contact (andany movement or breaking of the contact) on touch screen 112 andconverts the detected contact into interaction with user-interfaceobjects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) thatare displayed on touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, a pointof contact between touch screen 112 and the user corresponds to a fingerof the user.

Touch screen 112 optionally uses LCD (liquid crystal display)technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED(light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologiesare used in other embodiments. Touch screen 112 and display controller156 optionally detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof usingany of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or laterdeveloped, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared,and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximitysensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points ofcontact with touch screen 112. In an exemplary embodiment, projectedmutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in theiPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

Touch screen 112 optionally has a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi.In some embodiments, the touch screen has a video resolution ofapproximately 160 dpi. The user optionally makes contact with touchscreen 112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, afinger, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user interface isdesigned to work primarily with finger-based contacts and gestures,which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger areaof contact of a finger on the touch screen. In some embodiments, thedevice translates the rough finger-based input into a precisepointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired bythe user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100optionally includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating ordeactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad isa touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, doesnot display visual output. The touchpad is, optionally, atouch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch screen 112 or anextension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.

Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. Power system 162 optionally includes a power managementsystem, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current(AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a powerconverter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emittingdiode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more optical sensors 164.FIG. 1A shows an optical sensor coupled to optical sensor controller 158in I/O subsystem 106. Optical sensor 164 optionally includescharge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) phototransistors. Optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the lightto data representing an image. In conjunction with imaging module 143(also called a camera module), optical sensor 164 optionally capturesstill images or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is locatedon the back of device 100, opposite touch screen display 112 on thefront of the device, so that the touch screen display is enabled for useas a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, another optical sensor is located on the front of thedevice so that the user's image is, optionally, obtained forvideoconferencing while the user views the other video conferenceparticipants on the touch screen display.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more contact intensitysensors 165. FIG. 1A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled tointensity sensor controller 159 in I/O subsystem 106. Contact intensitysensor 165 optionally includes one or more piezoresistive strain gauges,capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric forcesensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, orother intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (orpressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface). Contact intensitysensor 165 receives contact intensity information (e.g., pressureinformation or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocatedwith, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitivedisplay system 112). In some embodiments, at least one contact intensitysensor is located on the back of device I00, opposite touch screendisplay 112 which is located on the front of device 100.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more proximity sensors 166.FIG. 1A shows proximity sensor 166 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 is coupled to input controller 160 inI/O subsystem 106. In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns offand disables touch screen 112 when the multifunction device is placednear the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more tactile outputgenerators 167. FIG. 1A shows a tactile output generator coupled tohaptic feedback controller 161 in I/O subsystem 106. Tactile outputgenerator 167 optionally includes one or more electroacoustic devicessuch as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanicaldevices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor,solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostaticactuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., acomponent that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on thedevice). Contact intensity sensor 165 receives tactile feedbackgeneration instructions from haptic feedback module 133 and generatestactile outputs on device 100 that are capable of being sensed by a userof device 100. In some embodiments, at least one tactile outputgenerator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112) and, optionally, generates atactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g.,in/out of a surface of device 100) or laterally (e.g., back and forth inthe same plane as a surface of device 100). In some embodiments, atleast one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back ofdevice 100, opposite touch screen display 112 which is located on thefront of device 100.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more accelerometers 168. FIG.1A shows accelerometer 168 coupled to peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 is, optionally, coupled to an inputcontroller 160 in I/O subsystem 106. In some embodiments, information isdisplayed on the touch screen display in a portrait view or a landscapeview based on an analysis of data received from the one or moreaccelerometers. Device 100 optionally includes, in addition toaccelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASSor other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaininginformation concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait orlandscape) of device 100.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102include operating system 126, communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, text input module (or setof instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set ofinstructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments memory 102 stores device/globalinternal state 157, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 3. Device/global internalstate 157 includes one or more of: active application state, indicatingwhich applications, if any, are currently active; display state,indicating what applications, views or other information occupy variousregions of touch screen display 112; sensor state, including informationobtained from the device's various sensors and input control devices116; and location information concerning the device's location and/orattitude.

Operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, oran embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various softwarecomponents and/or drivers for controlling and managing general systemtasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, powermanagement, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardwareand software components.

Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devicesover one or more external ports 124 and also includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/orexternal port 124. External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices orindirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). Insome embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin)connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) devices.

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects contact with touch screen112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and other touchsensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-downevent), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force orpressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of thecontact), determining if there is movement of the contact and trackingthe movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one ormore finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased(e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitivesurface. Determining movement of the point of contact, which isrepresented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determiningspeed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or anacceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point ofcontact. These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments,contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detect contact on atouchpad.

In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 uses a set of one or moreintensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has beenperformed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” onan icon). In some embodiments at least a subset of the intensitythresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g.,the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholdsof particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changingthe physical hardware of device 100). For example, a mouse “click”threshold of a trackpad or touch screen display can be set to any of alarge range of predefined thresholds values without changing thetrackpad or touch screen display hardware. Additionally, in someimplementations a user of the device is provided with software settingsfor adjusting one or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., byadjusting individual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting aplurality of intensity thresholds at once with a system-level click“intensity” parameter).

Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contactpatterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities ofdetected contacts). Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected bydetecting a particular contact pattern. For example, detecting a tapgesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting afinger-up (lift off) event at the same position (or substantially thesame position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of anicon). As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on thetouch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followedby detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequentlyfollowed by detecting a finger-up (lift off) event.

Graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on touch screen 112 or other display,including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness,transparency, saturation, contrast or other visual property) of graphicsthat are displayed. As used herein, the term “graphics” includes anyobject that can be displayed to a user, including without limitationtext, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including softkeys), digital images, videos, animations and the like.

In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representinggraphics to be used. Each graphic is, optionally, assigned acorresponding code. Graphics module 132 receives, from applicationsetc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with,if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and thengenerates screen image data to output to display controller 156.

Haptic feedback module 133 includes various software components forgenerating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 167 toproduce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 100 inresponse to user interactions with device 100.

Text input module 134, which is, optionally, a component of graphicsmodule 132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in variousapplications (e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, andany other application that needs text input).

GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides thisinformation for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 foruse in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata,and to applications that provide location-based services such as weatherwidgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).

Applications 136 optionally include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact        list);    -   telephone module 138;    -   video conferencing module 139;    -   e-mail or email client module 140;    -   instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   workout support module 142;    -   camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   image management module 144;    -   browser module 147;    -   calendar module 148;    -   widget modules 149, which optionally include one or more of:        weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget        149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and        other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created        widgets 149-6;    -   widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   search module 151;    -   video and music player module 152, which is, optionally, made up        of a video player module and a music player module;    -   notes module 153;    -   map module 154; and/or    -   online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that are, optionally, stored inmemory 102 include other word processing applications, other imageediting applications, drawing applications, presentation applications,JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voicerecognition, and voice replication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, contactsmodule 137 are, optionally, used to manage an address book or contactlist (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 of contacts module137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) to theaddress book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associatingtelephone number(s), email address(es), physical address(es) or otherinformation with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizingand sorting names; providing telephone numbers or e-mail addresses toinitiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, videoconference 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephone module138 are, optionally, used to enter a sequence of characterscorresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephonenumbers in address book 137, modify a telephone number that has beenentered dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation anddisconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed. As notedabove, the wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality ofcommunications standards, protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138,videoconferencing module 139 includes executable instructions toinitiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user andone or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executable instructions tocreate, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to userinstructions. In conjunction with image management module 144, e-mailclient module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mails withstill or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executableinstructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to aninstant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit arespective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service(SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-basedinstant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-basedinstant messages), to receive instant messages and to view receivedinstant messages. In some embodiments, transmitted and/or receivedinstant messages optionally include graphics, photos, audio files, videofiles and/or other attachments as are supported in a MMS and/or anEnhanced Messaging Service (EMS). As used herein, “instant messaging”refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMSor MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP,SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music player module 146,workout support module 142 includes executable instructions to createworkouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals);communicate with workout sensors (sports devices); receive workoutsensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select andplay music for a workout; and display, store and transmit workout data.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143includes executable instructions to capture still images or video(including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modifycharacteristics of a still image or video, or delete a still image orvideo from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and cameramodule 143, image management module 144 includes executable instructionsto arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete,present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/orvideo images.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions tobrowse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, includingsearching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portionsthereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, calendarmodule 148 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify,and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendarentries, to do lists, etc.) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 aremini-applications that are, optionally, downloaded and used by a user(e.g., weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or createdby the user (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, awidget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS(Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In someembodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) fileand a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo! Widgets).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 are,optionally, used by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning auser-specified portion of a web page into a widget).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134,search module 151 includes executable instructions to search for text,music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 that matchone or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified searchterms) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and music playermodule 152 includes executable instructions that allow the user todownload and play back recorded music and other sound files stored inone or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executableinstructions to display, present or otherwise play back videos (e.g., ontouch screen 112 or on an external, connected display via external port124). In some embodiments, device 100 optionally includes thefunctionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of AppleInc.).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, notes module153 includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to dolists, and the like in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154 are,optionally, used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and dataassociated with maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and otherpoints of interest at or near a particular location; and other locationbased data) in accordance with user instructions.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140,and browser module 147, online video module 155 includes instructionsthat allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streamingand/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen or on anexternal, connected display via external port 124), send an e-mail witha link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videosin one or more file formats, such as H.264. In some embodiments, instantmessaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, is used tosend a link to a particular online video.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of executable instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined orotherwise re-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structuresidentified above. Furthermore, memory 102 optionally stores additionalmodules and data structures not described above.

In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screen and/ora touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons,dials, and the like) on device 100 is, optionally, reduced.

The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through atouch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation betweenuser interfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by theuser, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that is displayed on device 100. In such embodiments, a “menubutton” is implemented using a touchpad. In some other embodiments, themenu button is a physical push button or other physical input controldevice instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary components for eventhandling in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,memory 102 (in FIG. 1A) or 370 (FIG. 3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g.,in operating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., anyof the aforementioned applications 137-13, 155, 380-390).

Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines theapplication 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to whichto deliver the event information. Event sorter 170 includes eventmonitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174. In some embodiments,application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, whichindicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch sensitivedisplay 112 when the application is active or executing. In someembodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, andapplication internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determineapplication views 191 to which to deliver event information.

In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additionalinformation, such as one or more of: resume information to be used whenapplication 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state informationthat indicates information being displayed or that is ready for displayby application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back toa prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue ofprevious actions taken by the user.

Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface118. Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., auser touch on touch-sensitive display 112, as part of a multi-touchgesture). Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receivesfrom I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166,accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry110). Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/Osubsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display 112 or atouch-sensitive surface.

In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripheralsinterface 118 at predetermined intervals. In response, peripheralsinterface 118 transmits event information. In other embodiments,peripheral interface 118 transmits event information only when there isa significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predeterminednoise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).

In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit viewdetermination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determinationmodule 173.

Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures fordetermining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views,when touch sensitive display 112 displays more than one view. Views aremade up of controls and other elements that a user can see on thedisplay.

Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is aset of views, sometimes herein called application views or userinterface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-basedgestures occur. The application views (of a respective application) inwhich a touch is detected optionally correspond to programmatic levelswithin a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application. For example,the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is, optionally,called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as properinputs are, optionally, determined based, at least in part, on the hitview of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.

Hit view determination module 172 receives information related tosub-events of a touch-based gesture. When an application has multipleviews organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which shouldhandle the sub-event. In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowestlevel view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the firstsub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potentialevent). Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determinationmodule, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to thesame touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.

Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which viewor views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence ofsub-events. In some embodiments, active event recognizer determinationmodule 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particularsequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, active event recognizerdetermination module 173 determines that all views that include thephysical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, andtherefore determines that all actively involved views should receive aparticular sequence of sub-events. In other embodiments, even if touchsub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with oneparticular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain asactively involved views.

Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an eventrecognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180). In embodiments including activeevent recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined byactive event recognizer determination module 173. In some embodiments,event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the eventinformation, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver module182.

In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170. In yet otherembodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part ofanother module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.

In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of eventhandlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of whichincludes instructions for handling touch events that occur within arespective view of the application's user interface. Each applicationview 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers180. Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a pluralityof event recognizers 180. In other embodiments, one or more of eventrecognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interfacekit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1inherits methods and other properties. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, objectupdater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from eventsorter 170. Event handler 190 optionally utilizes or calls data updater176, object updater 177 or GUI updater 178 to update the applicationinternal state 192. Alternatively, one or more of the application views191 includes one or more respective event handlers 190. Also, in someembodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, andGUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.

A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g.,event data 179) from event sorter 170, and identifies an event from theevent information. Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 andevent comparator 184. In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 alsoincludes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event deliveryinstructions 188 (which optionally include sub-event deliveryinstructions).

Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170. Theevent information includes information about a sub-event, for example, atouch or a touch movement. Depending on the sub-event, the eventinformation also includes additional information, such as location ofthe sub-event. When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the eventinformation optionally also includes speed and direction of thesub-event. In some embodiments, events include rotation of the devicefrom one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to alandscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event informationincludes corresponding information about the current orientation (alsocalled device attitude) of the device.

Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined eventor sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines anevent or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event orsub-event. In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes eventdefinitions 186. Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events(e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1(187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others. In some embodiments, sub-events inan event 187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touchmovement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching. In one example, thedefinition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) onthe displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on thedisplayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touchend) for a predetermined phase. In another example, the definition forevent 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object. The dragging, forexample, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for apredetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitivedisplay 112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end). In some embodiments,the event also includes information for one or more associated eventhandlers 190.

In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of anevent for a respective user-interface object. In some embodiments, eventcomparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interfaceobject is associated with a sub-event. For example, in an applicationview in which three user-interface objects are displayed ontouch-sensitive display 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitivedisplay 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine whichof the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch(sub-event). If each displayed object is associated with a respectiveevent handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit testto determine which event handler 190 should be activated. For example,event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with thesub-event and the object triggering the hit test.

In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event 187 alsoincludes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event informationuntil after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-eventsdoes or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.

When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series ofsub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, therespective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, eventfailed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequentsub-events of the touch-based gesture. In this situation, other eventrecognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue totrack and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate howthe event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to activelyinvolved event recognizers. In some embodiments, metadata 183 includesconfigurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how eventrecognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another. Insome embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags,and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varyinglevels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.

In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates eventhandler 190 associated with an event when one or more particularsub-events of an event are recognized. In some embodiments, a respectiveevent recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with theevent to event handler 190. Activating an event handler 190 is distinctfrom sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated withthe recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flagcatches the flag and performs a predefined process.

In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-eventdelivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-eventwithout activating an event handler. Instead, the sub-event deliveryinstructions deliver event information to event handlers associated withthe series of sub-events or to actively involved views. Event handlersassociated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved viewsreceive the event information and perform a predetermined process.

In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used inapplication 136-1. For example, data updater 176 updates the telephonenumber used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in videoplayer module 145. In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates andupdates objects used in application 136-1. For example, object updater176 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of auser-interface object. GUI updater 178 updates the GUI. For example, GUIupdater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.

In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to dataupdater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178. In someembodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 orapplication view 191. In other embodiments, they are included in two ormore software modules.

It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding eventhandling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies toother forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 withinput-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens. Forexample, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinatedwith single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movementssuch as taps, drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads; pen stylus inputs;movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements;biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilizedas inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to berecognized.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screenoptionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200.In this embodiment, as well as others described below, a user is enabledto select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on thegraphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scalein the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one ormore swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward)and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upwardand/or downward) that has made contact with device 100. In someimplementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphicdoes not select the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweepsover an application icon optionally does not select the correspondingapplication when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

Device 100 optionally also includes one or more physical buttons, suchas “home” or menu button 204. As described previously, menu button 204is, optionally, used to navigate to any application 136 in a set ofapplications that are, optionally executed on device 100. Alternatively,in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in aGUI displayed on touch screen 112.

In one embodiment, device 100 includes touch screen 112, menu button204, push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking thedevice, volume adjustment button(s) 208, Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) card slot 210, head set jack 212, and docking/charging externalport 124. Push button 206 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/offon the device by depressing the button and holding the button in thedepressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device bydepressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, device 100 also acceptsverbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions throughmicrophone 113. Device 100 also, optionally, includes one or morecontact intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts ontouch screen 112 and/or one or more tactile output generators 167 forgenerating tactile outputs for a user of device 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary multifunction device with adisplay and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with someembodiments. Device 300 need not be portable. In some embodiments,device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer,a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device(such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device(e.g., a home or industrial controller). Device 300 typically includesone or more processing units (CPUs) 310, one or more network or othercommunications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communicationbuses 320 for interconnecting these components. Communication buses 320optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) thatinterconnects and controls communications between system components.Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display340, which is typically a touch screen display. I/O interface 330 alsooptionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device)350 and touchpad 355, tactile output generator 357 for generatingtactile outputs on device 300 (e.g., similar to tactile outputgenerator(s) 167 described above with reference to FIG. 1A), sensors 359(e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contactintensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 165 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1A). Memory 370 includes high-speed randomaccess memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solidstate memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, suchas one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storagedevices. Memory 370 optionally includes one or more storage devicesremotely located from CPU(s) 310. In some embodiments, memory 370 storesprograms, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs,modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portablemultifunction device 100 (FIG. 1A), or a subset thereof. Furthermore,memory 370 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and datastructures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device100. For example, memory 370 of device 300 optionally stores drawingmodule 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, websitecreation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheetmodule 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.1A) optionally does not store these modules.

Each of the above identified elements in FIG. 3 are, optionally, storedin one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices. Each of theabove identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions forperforming a function described above. The above identified modules orprograms (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented asseparate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus varioussubsets of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwisere-arranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, memory 370optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identifiedabove. Furthermore, memory 370 optionally stores additional modules anddata structures not described above.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)that is, optionally, implemented on portable multifunction device 100.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance withsome embodiments. Similar user interfaces are, optionally, implementedon device 300. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s),        such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals;    -   Time 404;    -   Bluetooth indicator 405;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Icon 416 for telephone module 138, labeled “Phone,” which            optionally includes an indicator 414 of the number of missed            calls or voicemail messages;        -   Icon 418 for email client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which            optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread            e-mails;        -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser”; and        -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, also            referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152,            labeled “iPod”; and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Text”;        -   Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar”;        -   Icon 428 for image management module 144, labeled “Photos”;        -   Icon 430 for camera module 143, labeled “Camera”;        -   Icon 432 for online video module 155, labeled “Online Video”        -   Icon 434 for stocks widget 149-2, labeled “Stocks”;        -   Icon 436 for map module 154, labeled “Map”;        -   Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather”;        -   Icon 440 for alarm clock widget 149-4, labeled “Clock”;        -   Icon 442 for workout support module 142, labeled “Workout            Support”;        -   Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes”; and        -   Icon 446 for a settings application or module, which            provides access to settings for device 100 and its various            applications 136.

It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG. 4A aremerely exemplary. For example, icon 422 for video and music playermodule 152 are labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labels are,optionally, used for various application icons. In some embodiments, alabel for a respective application icon includes a name of anapplication corresponding to the respective application icon. In someembodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinct froma name of an application corresponding to the particular applicationicon.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary user interface on a device (e.g.,device 300, FIG. 3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tabletor touchpad 355, FIG. 3) that is separate from the display 450 (e.g.,touch screen display 112). Device 300 also, optionally, includes one ormore contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 357 fordetecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 451 and/orone or more tactile output generators 359 for generating tactile outputsfor a user of device 300.

Although some of the examples which follow will be given with referenceto inputs on touch screen display 112 (where the touch sensitive surfaceand the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detectsinputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display,as shown in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments the touch sensitive surface(e.g., 451 in FIG. 4B) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG. 4B) thatcorresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG. 4B) on the display(e.g., 450). In accordance with these embodiments, the device detectscontacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG. 4B) with the touch-sensitive surface451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display(e.g., in FIG. 4B, 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470).In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movementsthereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g.,451 in FIG. 4B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interfaceon the display (e.g., 450 in FIG. 4B) of the multifunction device whenthe touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display. It should beunderstood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other userinterfaces described herein.

Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily withreference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, tap gestures, fingerswipe gestures), it should be understood that, in some embodiments, oneor more of the finger inputs are replaced with input from another inputdevice (e.g., a mouse based input or stylus input). For example, a swipegesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click (e.g., instead of acontact) followed by movement of the cursor along the path of the swipe(e.g., instead of movement of the contact). As another example, a tapgesture is, optionally, replaced with a mouse click while the cursor islocated over the location of the tap gesture (e.g., instead of detectionof the contact followed by ceasing to detect the contact). Similarly,when multiple user inputs are simultaneously detected, it should beunderstood that multiple computer mice are, optionally, usedsimultaneously, or a mouse and finger contacts are, optionally, usedsimultaneously.

As used herein, the term “focus selector” refers to an input elementthat indicates a current part of a user interface with which a user isinteracting. In some implementations that include a cursor or otherlocation marker, the cursor acts as a “focus selector,” so that when aninput (e.g., a press input) is detected on a touch-sensitive surface(e.g., touchpad 355 in FIG. 3 or touch-sensitive surface 451 in FIG. 4B)while the cursor is over a particular user interface element (e.g., abutton, window, slider or other user interface element), the particularuser interface element is adjusted in accordance with the detectedinput. In some implementations that include a touch-screen display(e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112 in FIG. 1A or touch screen 112in FIG. 4A) that enables direct interaction with user interface elementson the touch-screen display, a detected contact on the touch-screen actsas a “focus selector,” so that when an input (e.g., a press input by thecontact) is detected on the touch-screen display at a location of aparticular user interface element (e.g., a button, window, slider orother user interface element), the particular user interface element isadjusted in accordance with the detected input. In some implementationsfocus is moved from one region of a user interface to another region ofthe user interface without corresponding movement of a cursor ormovement of a contact on a touch-screen display (e.g., by using a tabkey or arrow keys to move focus from one button to another button); inthese implementations, the focus selector moves in accordance withmovement of focus between different regions of the user interface.Without regard to the specific form taken by the focus selector, thefocus selector is generally the user interface element (or contact on atouch-screen display) that is controlled by the user so as tocommunicate the user's intended interaction with the user interface(e.g., by indicating, to the device, the element of the user interfacewith which the user is intending to interact). For example, the locationof a focus selector (e.g., a cursor, a contact or a selection box) overa respective button while a press input is detected on thetouch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touchpad or touch screen) will indicatethat the user is intending to activate the respective button (as opposedto other user interface elements shown on a display of the device).

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)and associated processes that may be implemented on an electronic devicewith a display and a touch-sensitive surface, such as device 300 orportable multifunction device 100.

As mentioned previously, the device 100 includes multiple applications136 configured to execute on the device 100. One of the multipleapplications 136 is the email client module 140 and a user can interactwith the application on the computing device 100. As will be furtherdescribed below, the email client module 140 has various user interfacesto enhance the user experience with the computing device 100 when usingthe application.

Swipe Options in an Email Client Module UI and Gestures

FIG. 5A illustrates a portrait view of icons, also known as a“Springboard” layout, for applications of the device 100, according toone embodiment. For example, the tray 408 icons are for the followingapplications or modules:

-   -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages”;    -   Icon 418 for email client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which        optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread        emails;    -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser”; and    -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, labeled “music”;        and Icons for other applications include:    -   Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages”;    -   Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar”;    -   Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, labeled “music”;    -   Icon 418 for email client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which        optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread        emails;    -   Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather”;    -   Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser”; and    -   Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes.”        In other embodiments, different and/or additional icons can be        presented on the user interface 500.

Furthermore, FIG. 5A illustrates a gesture to execute or launch anapplication. The launch gesture is directed towards the “Mail” icon 418indicative of a user request to execute the email client module 140represented by the “Mail” icon 418. Although the launch gesture isdescribed with respect to the portrait view of the icons, the launchgesture may also be received in a landscape view of the icons.

In one embodiment, the launch gesture or any other suitable gestureherein includes a tap on an icon. In general, a gesture is considered tobe “on” an icon if the user's finger(s) touch at least a portion of theicon displayed on the user interface 500. In FIG. 5A, the launch gestureis represented by the contact 502 of the user's finger on the “Mail”icon 418, shown as a dotted ellipse. In response to the launch gesture,the device 100 dismisses (i.e., removes) the icons from display on theuser interface 500 and displays in its place a mail application view 504corresponding to the “Mail” icon 418 as shown in FIG. 5B. Theapplication view 504 of the email client module 140 is the userinterface of the email client module 140. The mail application view 504corresponding to the “Mail” icon 418 includes email messages from theuser's email account(s).

Responsive to user selection of the menu button, for example, throughcontact of the menu button 204, the device 100 dismisses the mailapplication view 504 of the “Mail” icon 418 from the user interface 500and displays the icons as shown in FIG. 5A. In one embodiment, dismissalof an application merely removes the mail application view 504 frombeing displayed on the user interface 500. The dismissed application isstill executing in a background process of the device 100 even thoughthe mail application view 504 of the application is no longer displayedon the user interface. Thus, the email client module 140 shown in FIG.5B is still executing in the background of the device 100 even thoughthe mail application view 504 of the email client module 140 has beendismissed.

FIG. 5B illustrates a mail application view 504 of an email application,according to one embodiment. The mail application view 504 displaysportions of email messages of email threads 506A, 506B 506C, 506D, 506Efrom an inbox of the user's email account. Each displayed portion of anemail message of an email thread, herein referred to as message portion506, displays sender information 508, subject information 510, and aportion of the body of the email 512 and can display any other suitableinformation associated with the message portion 506. In addition, amessage portion 506 can include indicators such as an attachmentindicator 514 and a VIP sender indicator 516. Additional indicatorsinclude a VIP thread indicator, further described in conjunction withFIG. 11. The attachment indicator 514 indicates that the associatedemail thread or message portion has an attachment such as a photo, avideo, an audio file, a document, or any other suitable file that can beattached to an email message in an email thread 506. For example, theattachment indicator 514 is a paper clip icon. The VIP sender indicator516 indicates that the received email is from a sender previouslyindicated as a VIP sender. For example, indicating a sender as a VIPsender indicates a request to receive a notification (e.g., through theVIP sender indicator 516) of any email sent from the sender. In theembodiment shown, the VIP sender indicator 516 is a star icon.

The mail application view 504 of the email application includesadditional user interface elements such as a back element 518, an editelement 520, a refresh element 522, a new draft element 524, or anyother suitable element that can be used in an email application. Theback element 518, if selected, displays email accounts associated withthe user or additional folders of an account. The edit element 520, ifselected, displays options for a user to remove one or more emailthreads from the mail application view 504. The refresh element 522, ifselected, refreshes the mail application view 504 and, for example,displays any new received emails. The new draft element 524, ifselected, displays a new draft email in the email application.

FIGS. 5C, 5D, and 5E illustrate receiving a gesture for displaying swipeoptions 528 in the email application, according to one embodiment. Thedisplay gesture is indicative of a user request to display swipe options528 for an email thread 506 or message portion 506 in the emailapplication. The display gesture may include a swipe in a directionsubstantially parallel with the email thread 506 or on the touchscreen112 at a location on the display corresponding to an email message of anemail thread 506.

In one embodiment, the display gesture includes dragging a contact(e.g., user's finger, a stylus) a threshold distance from an initialposition to a second position on top of an email thread 506 displayed inthe mail application view 504. For example, a contact 526 is detected bythe device 100 at an initial position in the email thread 506B, as shownin FIG. 5C. The contact 526 is continuous and dragged at least athreshold distance, e.g., in a direction substantially parallel with thewidth of the email thread 506B, to a second position in the email thread506B, as shown in FIG. 5E. For example, the contact 526 is maintainedfrom the initial position a threshold distance to the second positionshown in FIGS. 5C, 5D, and 5E in a continuous movement without thecontact breaking contact with the touch screen 112 of the device 100. Inanother embodiment, instead of a threshold distance, the display gestureincludes dragging a contact at a threshold rate on top of a messageportion 506. Thus, the contact 526 is maintained and dragged at a ratein a direction substantially parallel with the width of the messageportion 506B. In other embodiments, other parameters of the maintainedcontact 526 are evaluated for the display gesture. The other parameterscan include strength of pressure of the contact 526, or number ofcontact points, or any other measurable parameter of the contact and itsmovement.

After completion of the display gesture or the threshold distance orrate is reached, user interface elements such as the swipe options 528are displayed on one side (e.g., left, right) of the message portion506B. In one embodiment, the swipe options 528 slide out continuouslyand/or proportionally to a distance or a normalized distance reached bythe contact 526. Thus, if the contact 526 reached half the thresholddistance, then half of the swipe options 528 are displayed on the rightside of the message portion 506B, e.g., as shown by the swipe inprogress of FIG. 5D. If the contact 526 reached half the thresholddistance, half the threshold distance may equal a fourth of length ofthe swipe options 528 and then only a fourth of the swipe options 528are displayed on the right side of the message portion 506B. In anotherembodiment, the swipe options 528 do not slide out or are not displayeduntil the contact 526 reaches the threshold distance, and then snap intoplace. In the embodiment where the display gesture includes a thresholdrate, the swipe options 528 slide out at a rate proportional to the rateof the traversal of the contact 526.

In the embodiment where the swipe options 528 are partially displayed asthe contact 526 is maintained, if the contact 526 is not maintaineduntil the threshold distance is reached and/or broken, the swipe options528 can “rubber band,” bounce back, or slide out of view to the originalview of the message portion 506B, hiding the swipe options 528.

In the illustrated example, once the threshold distance is reached, theswipe options 528 are displayed on the right side of the message portion506B and the message portion 506B is shifted in the direction of theswipe but adjacent to the displayed swipe options 528. For example, theswipe options 528 include a more option 528A, a notify option 528B, anda trash option 528C in one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5E. In theembodiment shown in FIGS. 5A-H, the swipe options 528 include threeoptions. Each option in the displayed swipe options 528 are selectableand, once selected, can perform an action on the associated email threador message associated with the message portion, display a popupassociated with the option, display a sheet associated with the optionfor further actions to take on the associated email thread, or anycombination thereof. Selection of options is further described inconjunction with FIGS. 8 and 13. However, in other embodiments, theswipe options 528 can include one or more options and the options can becustomized by the user of the device 100 through a settings applicationof the device 100, further described in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 17.

FIGS. 5F, 5G, and 5H illustrate receiving a gesture for closing swipeoptions 528 displayed in the email application, according to oneembodiment. The close gesture is indicative of a user request to closethe swipe options for message portion 506 in the email application. Theclose gesture may include a swipe in another, e.g., opposite, directionsubstantially parallel with the message portion 506 according to oneembodiment. For example, the another direction is the opposite directionof the direction of the display gesture for displaying the swipe options528 shown in FIGS. 5C, 5D, and 5E.

In one embodiment, the close gesture includes dragging a contact athreshold distance from an initial position to a second position on topof a message portion 506 displaying the swipe options 528 displayed inthe mail application view 504. For example, a contact 526 is detected bythe device 100 at an initial position in the message portion 506B, asshown in FIG. 5F. The contact 526 is maintained and dragged a thresholddistance in the another direction, e.g., substantially parallel with thewidth of the message portion 506B to a second position in the messageportion 506B, as shown in FIG. 5H. For example, the contact 526 ismaintained from the initial position a threshold distance to the secondposition shown in FIGS. 5F, 5G, and 5H in a continuous movement withoutthe contact breaking contact with the touch screen 112 of the device100. In another embodiment, instead of a threshold distance, the closegesture includes dragging a contact at a threshold rate on top of amessage portion displayed in the mail application view 504. Thus, thecontact 526 is maintained and dragged at a rate in a directionsubstantially parallel with the width of the message portion 506B. Inother embodiments, other parameters of the maintained contact 526 areevaluated for the display gesture. The other parameters can includestrength of pressure of the contact or number of contact points.

After completion of the close gesture or the threshold distance or rateis reached, the swipe options 528 are no longer displayed. In oneembodiment, the swipe options 528 slide in or close continuously and/orproportionally to the distance or a normalized distance reached by thecontact 526, as previously described and as shown in FIG. 5G. In anotherembodiment, the swipe options 528 do not slide in, close, or are notdisplayed until the contact 526 reaches the threshold distance, and thensnap out of sight. In the embodiment in which the close gesture includesa threshold rate, the swipe options 528 slide in or close at a rateproportional to the rate of the traversal of the contact 526.

In the embodiment in which the swipe options 528 are partially hidden asthe contact 526 is maintained, if the contact 526 is not maintaineduntil the threshold distance is reached and/or broken, the swipe options528 can “rubber band” or bounce back out and display the full swipeoptions 528 of the message portion 506B, as shown in FIG. 5F. In theillustrated example, once the threshold distance or threshold rate isreached, the swipe options 528 are no longer visible, the messageportion 506B is shifted back in the another direction, and the messageportion 506B is visible in the email application.

In addition to displaying swipe options 528, a default action can beassociated with a gesture as well such as an expanded swipe option 628.FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D illustrate receiving a gesture for displayingan expanded swipe option 628 in the email application, according to oneembodiment. The display gesture is indicative of a user request todisplay an expanded swipe option 628 for a message portion 506B in theemail application. The display gesture may include a swipe in adirection substantially parallel along the width of the message portion506B. For example, the direction of the display gesture to display anexpanded swipe option 628 is the same direction of the display gestureto display the swipe options 528.

In one embodiment, the display gesture includes dragging a contact athreshold distance from an initial position to a second position on topof a message portion 506 displayed in the mail application view 504. Forexample, a contact 626 is detected by the device 100 at an initialposition in the message portion 506B, as shown in FIG. 6A. The contact626 is maintained and dragged at a threshold rate on top of or dragged athreshold distance in a direction substantially parallel with the widthof the message portion 506B to a second position in the message portion506B, as shown in FIG. 6D in a similar manner as described in FIG. 5.

In one embodiment, the threshold distance to display an expanded swipeoption 628 is greater than the threshold distance to display the swipeoptions described in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 6B. In this embodiment,where the direction of the swipe for displaying the expanded swipeoption 628 and the direction of the swipe for displaying the swipeoptions 528 are the same, if the threshold distance for displaying swipeoptions 528 is reached, as shown in FIG. 6B, the swipe options 528 areshown. As the contact 626 is maintained and the threshold distance fordisplaying the expanded swipe option 628 is reached, as shown in FIG.6D, the expanded swipe option 628 is shown.

In another embodiment, one or more threshold rates can be used asindicators of a user request to display either the swipe options 528 orthe expanded swipe option 628. For example, if the rate of the movementof the contact 626 is less than a first threshold rate, then the swipeoptions 528 are displayed. If the rate of the movement of the contact626 is greater than a second threshold rate, then the expanded swipeoption 628 is displayed. In one embodiment, the first threshold rate canbe less than or equal to the second threshold rate.

After completion of the display gesture or the threshold distance orrate is reached, the expanded swipe option 628 is displayed across thewidth of the message portion 506B as shown in FIG. 6D. In oneembodiment, the expanded swipe option 628 slides out continuously and/orproportionally to the distance reached by the contact 626 in a similarmanner as described previously in FIG. 5. In the embodiment where thereare two threshold distances for displaying either the swipe options 528or the expanded swipe option 628, once the contact 626 exceeds the firstthreshold distance for the swipe options 528, a portion of the expandedswipe option 628 is shown proportional to the distance reached betweenthe first threshold distance and the second threshold distance, as shownin FIG. 6C. If half the distance between the first threshold distanceand the second threshold distance is reached, then half of the expandedswipe option 628 or half of a cropped swipe option 628 is displayed onthe right side of the message portion 506B. The distance between thefirst threshold distance and the second threshold distance can be anormalized distance by the length of the width of the message portion506B or the difference between the first and second threshold distances.

In another embodiment, the expanded swipe option 628 does not slide outor is not displayed until the contact 626 reaches the threshold distanceor second threshold distance from the preceding example or a thresholdrate, and then snaps into place. In the embodiment where the expandedswipe option 628 is partially displayed as the contact 626 ismaintained, if the contact 626 is not maintained until the thresholddistance, such as the second threshold distance from the precedingexample, is reached and/or broken, as shown in FIG. 6C, the expandedswipe option 628 can “rubber band” or bounce back to the original viewof the message portion 506B, shown in FIG. 6A, or the swipe options 528,shown in FIG. 6B, hiding the swipe options 528.

In the illustrated example, once the threshold distance is reached, theexpanded swipe option 628 is displayed instead of the message portion506B and the message portion 506B is no longer shown in the emailapplication. For example, the expanded swipe option 628 can be an optionincluded in the swipe options 528 such as the trash option 528C or canbe a different option that can be a default option or customized by theuser of the device 100 through a settings application of the device 100,further described in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 17. The expanded swipeoption 628 is selectable and, once selected, can perform an action onthe associated email thread or message associated with the messageportion, display a popup associated with the option, display a sheetassociated with the option for further actions to take on the associatedemail thread, or any combination thereof. Selection of options isfurther described in conjunction with FIGS. 8 and 13.

FIGS. 6E, 6F, and 6G illustrate receiving a gesture for closing anexpanded swipe option 628 in the email application, according to oneembodiment. The close gesture is indicative of a user request to closean expanded swipe option 628 for a message portion 506B in the emailapplication. The close gesture may include a swipe in another directionsubstantially parallel with the width of the email thread 506B. Forexample, the another direction is the opposite of the direction of aswipe of a display gesture to display an expanded swipe option 628. Inaddition, the close gesture can be the same as the close gesturedescribed previously in FIG. 5.

In one embodiment, the close gesture includes dragging a contact athreshold distance from an initial position to a second position on topof a message portion 506 displayed in the mail application view 504. Forexample, a contact 626 is detected by the device 100 at an initialposition in the message portion 506B, as shown in FIG. 6E. The contact626 is maintained and dragged at a threshold rate on top of or dragged athreshold distance in a direction substantially parallel with the widthof the message portion 506B to a second position in the message portion506B, as shown in FIG. 6G in a similar manner as the close gesturedescribed previously in FIGS. 5 and 6A-D.

In one embodiment, the threshold distance to close an expanded swipeoption 628 is greater than the threshold distance to close the swipeoptions described in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 6F, and in a similarmanner as the threshold distance and threshold rate described in FIGS.6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D. In this embodiment, where the direction of the swipefor displaying the expanded swipe option 628 and the direction of theswipe for displaying the swipe options 528 are the same, if thethreshold distance for displaying swipe options 528 is reached, as shownin FIG. 6F, the swipe options 528 are shown instead of the expandedswipe option 628 shown in FIG. 6E. As the contact 626 is maintained andthe threshold distance for closing the expanded swipe option 628 isreached and the threshold distance for displaying swipe options 528 ispassed, the swipe options 528 are hidden as well in a similar manner asdescribed in FIG. 5.

In another embodiment, one or more threshold rates can be used asindicators of a user request to close either the swipe options 528 orthe expanded swipe option 628. For example, if the rate of the movementof the contact 626 is greater than a first threshold rate, then theexpanded swipe option 628 is closed and the message portion 506B isdisplayed. If the rate of the movement of the contact 626 is less than asecond threshold rate, then the expanded swipe option 628 is closed orhidden and the swipe options 528 are displayed. Then, if the movement ofthe contact 626 continues for a longer distance or is repeated, then theswipe options 528 can also be closed or hidden and the message portion506 displayed. In this example, the first threshold rate can be greaterthan or equal to the second threshold rate.

After completion of the close gesture or the threshold distance or rateis reached, the message portion 506B is displayed again. In oneembodiment, the expanded swipe option 628 slides in or closescontinuously and/or proportionally to the distance or normalizeddistance reached by the contact 626, as described in FIGS. 5, 6A, 6B,6C, and 6D. In the embodiment where there are two threshold distancesfor displaying either the swipe options 528 or the expanded swipe option628, and the contact 626 is no longer at the second threshold fordisplaying the expanded swipe option 628 but not yet at the firstthreshold distance for displaying swipe options 528, the expanded swipeoption 628 is shown proportional to the distance reached between thefirst threshold distance and the second threshold distance.

In another embodiment, the expanded swipe option 628 does not slide inor is not closed until the contact 626 reaches the threshold distance,such as the first threshold distance from the preceding example. In theembodiment where the expanded swipe option 628 is partially hidden asthe contact 626 is maintained, if the contact 626 is not maintaineduntil the threshold distance or first threshold distance is reachedand/or broken, the expanded swipe option 628 can “rubber band” or bounceback and be displayed instead of the message portion 506B, shown in FIG.6E.

In the illustrated example, once the threshold distance to close theexpanded swipe option 528 is reached or the close gesture is completed,the expanded swipe option 628 is hidden and the message portion 506B isshown in the email application, as shown in FIG. 6G, according to oneembodiment. For example, the expanded swipe option 628 can be an optionincluded in the swipe options 528 such as the trash option 528C or canbe a different option that can be a default option or customized by theuser of the device 100 through a settings application of the device 100,further described in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 17.

In addition to displaying swipe options 528 and an expanded swipe option628, additional one or more options can be displayed with a gesture onthe other side of the message portion such as swipe option 728. FIGS.7A, 7B, and 7C illustrate a gesture for displaying a swipe option 728 inthe email application and FIGS. 7D and 7E illustrate a gesture forclosing a swipe option 728 in the email application, according to oneembodiment. In one embodiment, the display gesture and close gesture arethe same as the display gesture and close gesture described inconjunction with FIG. 5 for contact 726 and swipe option 728. In oneembodiment, the display gesture and/or close gesture is unlike thedisplay gesture and/or close gesture described in FIG. 5 in direction ofthe swipe, the threshold distance, the threshold rate, or anycombination thereof. For example, if the swipe options 528 are displayedon a first side (e.g., right side) of the message portion 506, the swipeoption 728 is shown on the other side or opposite side of the first side(e.g., left side) of the message portion 506. In this example, thedirection of the swipe of the display gesture and/or close gesture todisplay and/or close the swipe option 728 is the opposite direction ofthe swipe of the display gesture and/or close gesture to display orclose the swipe options 528 and expanded swipe option 628. In oneembodiment, the threshold distance and/or threshold rate for the displaygesture and/or close gesture shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C is equal tothe threshold distance and/or threshold rate of the display gestureand/or close gesture described in conjunction with FIG. 5.

In one embodiment, the displayed or closed swipe option 728 is presentedand animated in a similar manner as the swipe options 528 described inconjunction with FIG. 5. For example, the swipe option 728 is a junkoption. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the swipe option 728 includesone option. However, in other embodiments, the swipe option 728 caninclude a plurality of options and one or more of the plurality ofoptions can be customized by the user of the device 100 through asettings application of the device 100, further described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 9 and 17.

One or more of the previously mentioned options (e.g., options in theswipe options 528, the expanded swipe option 628, and the swipe option728) can be selected through a gesture to present a sheet associatedwith the swipe option. Once selected, an action is performed on theassociated email thread or message associated with the message portion,display a popup associated with the option, display a sheet associatedwith the option for further actions to take on the associated emailthread, or any combination thereof. Selection of options is furtherdescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 8 and 13.

Displaying Sheets for Options in an Email Client Module UI and Gestures

FIG. 8A illustrates receiving a gesture for displaying a sheet for amore option 528A in the swipe options 528 in the email application andFIG. 8B illustrates a sheet 800 for the more option 528A option,according to one embodiment. The gesture described herein is alsoapplicable to displaying a sheet for any of the other options displayedin the swipe options 528, the expanded swipe option 628, and the swipeoption 728. In one embodiment, the gesture includes a tap on an option,e.g., the more option 528A, shown as contact 826 in FIG. 8A (dottedellipse). In response to the gesture, the device 100 displays a sheet800 of the more option 528A as shown in FIG. 8B.

In one embodiment, the sheet 800 for the more option 528A, as shown inFIG. 8B, includes the following actions to take with the message portion506B: reply, forward, flag, mark as read, show related messages, movemessage, and cancel. The included actions can be customized by the userof the device 100 through a settings application of the device 100,further described in conjunction with FIG. 9. If the user selects anaction displayed on the sheet 800, for example by contacting a portionof the display corresponding to the action on the sheet 800, the actionis applied to the corresponding email thread 506B or message associatedwith the message portion 506B.

Customization of Swipe Options in an Email Client Module UI

The options in the swipe options 528, the expanded swipe option 628 andthe swipe option 728 can be customized by users in a settingsapplication. FIGS. 9A-F illustrate pages 902, 904, 906, 908, 910, and912 in an application view of a settings application, according to oneembodiment. FIG. 9 describes customizing options in the swipe options528, the expanded swipe option 628, the swipe option 728, and actionspresented on sheets for the options. In alternative embodiments,different application(s) other than the settings application ordifferent page(s) in the settings applications can be used to customizethe options and sheets.

FIG. 9A illustrates an “expand” gesture in a notification center 902associated with the settings application. In one embodiment, the expandgesture includes a tap on a representation of the “Mail” icon 418, shownas contact 926 in FIG. 9A. Responsive to the expand gesture, a mail page904 is displayed in the settings application, as shown in FIG. 9B. Inthe mail page 904, the user can select whether to activate swipe options(e.g., options in swipe options 528, the expanded swipe option 628, theswipe option 728) in the email application through, as an example,selection of a radio button. Responsive to contact 926 with the radiobutton, a customize option may become available as shown in the modifiedmail page 906 in FIG. 9C according to one embodiment. Responsive to anexpand gesture detected by the device 100 for the customize option, forexample through contact 926 with the customize option, a customize swipeoptions page 908 is displayed in the settings application. The customizeswipe options page 908 includes an option to customize the options andcustomize alert settings associated with swipe options. Responsive to anexpand gesture detected by the device 100 for options, for examplethrough contact 926 with options, an options page 910 is displayed inthe settings application, as shown in FIG. 9E. In the options page 910,one or more of the options (e.g., options in the swipe options 528, theexpanded swipe option 628, the swipe option 728) can be customized ormay have a default option. Features of the options can be customized aswell such as color. For example, the more option 528A can be blue, thenotify option 528B can be orange, the trash option 528C can be red, andthe junk option can be yellow. Responsive to the expand gesture detectedby the device 100 for option 1, for example through contact 926 of theoption 1 option, an option 1 page 912 is displayed in the settingsapplication as shown in FIG. 9F.

Method for Swipe Options in an Email Client Module UI

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for displaying one or more swipeoptions in an email application, according to one embodiment.Embodiments of the process described here may be implemented on anelectronic device with a touch-sensitive surface and display, such asdevice 100.

A list comprising information corresponding to a plurality of emailmessages is displayed 1005. The list includes portions of email messagesof email threads, as described previously in conjunction with FIG. 5B.Information includes sender information, subject information, and aportion of the email. In addition, information can include indicatorssuch as an attachment indicator, a VIP sender indicator, and a VIPthread indicator.

A contact 526 on the touch-sensitive surface is detected 1010.Continuous movement of the contact 526 in a first direction, withoutbreaking contact with the touch-sensitive surface, is detected 1015 at alocation on the display corresponding to a message of the plurality ofemail messages, as shown previously in FIGS. 5C, 5D, and 5E. Thelocation on the display corresponding to the message of the plurality ofemail messages can be a row displaying the portion of the message, asshown in the rows displaying portions of email messages of email threads506 in FIGS. 5-7. Depending on the direction of the continuous movement,displayed user interface elements can vary. For example, a firstdirection can display swipe options 528 and/or the expanded swipe option628 and a second direction can display the swipe option 728 and/oradditional options.

One or more parameters of the movement of the contact are determined1020. Parameters of the movement of the contact 526 include 1022distance, rate, strength of pressure of the contact 526, number ofcontact points, or any other measurable parameter of the contact 526 andits movement, as described previously in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7.

In accordance with a determination that a parameter of the movementmeets a first criterion, a plurality of user interface elementsrepresenting actions to be taken on the email message is displayed 1025.User interface elements representing actions to be taken are selectableand include 1029 options displayed in the swipe options 528, theexpanded swipe option 628, or swipe options 728. For example, the swipeoptions 528 include a more option 528A, a notify option 528B, and atrash option 528C. In one embodiment, the default action or expandedswipe option 628 is 1034 an option (e.g., trash option 528C) in theswipe options 528. The options displayed in the swipe options 528, theexpanded swipe option 628, and swipe options 728 can be default actionsor personalized by a user as described in conjunction with FIG. 9. Theoptions can be customized based on color (e.g., color coded based oncategory where red is for delete or the trash option 528C, orange is forflag or the notify option 528B, and blue is for additional options suchas the more option 528A), action associated with the option, graphicalindications, or any combination thereof. Criteria, such as the firstcriterion, of parameters include 1027 various threshold distances,threshold rates, threshold strengths of pressure of the contact 526,threshold numbers of contact points, or any other suitable threshold fora parameter.

In some embodiments, the plurality of user interface elements isdisplayed 1025 or visually slides out from a side (e.g., right)continuously and/or proportionally to a distance or a normalizeddistance reached by the contact 526 or based on the first criterion.Thus, as a result, the portion of the email message of the email threaddisplayed in the row associated with the plurality of user interfaceelements being displayed is slid off the display in the direction of thecontinuous movement and can be slid off simultaneously as the pluralityof user interface elements slide into view on the row. In oneembodiment, if the first criterion is not met, the plurality of userinterface elements are not displayed 1025. In the embodiment in whichthe plurality of user interface elements slide out from a sidecontinuously and/or proportionally to a distance or a normalizeddistance reached by the contact 526, if the first criterion is not met,the plurality of user interface elements rubber band back to the sideand are not displayed. In some embodiments, the plurality of userinterface elements collapse to a thin line along the bottom of the rowdisplaying a portion of an email message of an email thread that alsodisplays the plurality of user interface elements. In one embodiment, ifcontact is maintained by the user, whether the first criterion is met,for longer than a threshold duration, the plurality of user interfaceelements are not displayed, rubber band back and disappear, or collapseto a thin line.

In accordance with a determination that the parameter of the movementmeets a second criterion different from the first criterion, a defaultaction is performed 1030 on the email message. Criteria, such as thefirst criterion and second criterion, of parameters include variousthreshold distances (e.g., a threshold distance of the first criterionis less than a threshold distance of the second criterion), thresholdrates, threshold strengths of pressure of the contact 526, thresholdnumbers of contact points, or any other suitable threshold for aparameter, as described previously. In some embodiments, the defaultaction is not performed 1030 until a user selects the displayed defaultaction, such as the expanded swipe option 628. For example, a userinterface element associated with the default action is displayed acrossthe entire row displaying a portion of an email message of an emailthread 506. The user interface element, according to one embodiment, isthe trash option 528C.

The default action can be displayed, in one embodiment, or slide outfrom the side (e.g., right, same as the side the plurality of userinterface elements is displayed 1025) continuously and/or proportionallyto a distance or a normalized distance reached by the contact 526, basedon the second criterion, or only if the second criterion is met. In theembodiment in which the user interface element associated with thedefault action slides out from a side continuously and/or proportionallyto a distance or a normalized distance reached by the contact 526, ifthe second criterion is not met, the plurality of user interfaceelements rubber band back to the displayed plurality of user interfaceelements (e.g., swipe options 528) or no options are displayed. In someembodiments, the user interface element associated with the defaultaction collapses to a thin line along the bottom of the row displaying aportion of an email message of an email thread that also displays theplurality of user interface elements. In one embodiment, if contact ismaintained by the user, whether the second criterion is met, for longerthan a threshold duration, the user interface element is not displayed,rubber bands back to the previously displayed plurality of userinterface elements, rubber bands and disappears, or collapses to a thinline.

The displayed user interface elements are selectable and, in someembodiments, upon selection of a user interface element, a sheet isdisplayed including additional user interface elements associated withadditional actions to take on the message. If a user interface elementassociated with the default action (e.g., trash option 528C) isselected, a prompt is displayed requesting confirmation of theselection. Upon receiving confirmation of the selection of the userinterface element associated with the default action, a sheet includingadditional user interface elements associated with additional actions totake on the message is also displayed.

VIP Threads in an Email Client Module UI and Gestures

An email thread can be assigned a higher priority than other emailthreads by a user through indicating the email thread as a VIP thread.FIG. 11A illustrates a mail application view 504 of an emailapplication, according to one embodiment. The mail application view 504displays email messages of email threads 506A, 506B 506C, 506D, 506Efrom the inbox of the user's email account, as described in FIG. 5. FIG.11A also illustrates receiving a gesture indicative of a request todraft a new email and open a composition interface. For example, thedraft gesture includes a contact 1126 detected by the device 100 on thenew draft element 524. Responsive to the detected contact 1126, amessage composition interface or draft user interface (UI) 1100 isshown, for example as illustrated in FIG. 11B. By default, a cursor 1102can appear on the draft UI 1100, e.g., in the “To” line as a default.

FIG. 11C illustrates the cursor 1102 in the subject line of the draft UI1100. When the cursor 1102 is in the subject line, a notificationelement 1104 appears or is visually distinguished, for example, from itsprevious state (not shown) in FIG. 11B. In the example shown, thenotification element 1104 is an outline of a bell in blue, but may beany other suitable element. Other suitable elements include differentobjects, different visual characteristics (e.g., color, shape, size,location, style), or any combination thereof. Upon selection of thenotification element 1104 as shown by the contact 1126 in FIG. 11C, thenotification element 1104 is updated to appear visually distinguishedfrom its previous state. The notification element can be visuallydistinguished as a different object, having a different visualcharacteristic (e.g., color, shape, size, location, style), or anycombination thereof. For example, the notification element 1104 is now abell shaded blue, shown in FIG. 11D.

FIG. 11E illustrates the cursor 1102 in the body of the draft UI 1100and, responsive to the cursor 1102 no longer in the subject line of thedraft UI 1100, the notification element 1104 appears visuallydistinguished again from its previous state. The notification elementvisually distinguished, as above. As shown in FIG. 11E, the notificationelement 1104 is now a striped bell. In one embodiment, the notificationelement 1104 can be a bell shaded grey. Additional embodiments includethe notification element 1104 as visually distinguished, as above.

Future emails or email messages received in the email thread 1106Ainclude a VIP thread indicator 1108 as shown in FIG. 11F, indicating theselection of the notification element 1104 for the email thread 1106A.For example, the email message in the email thread with the subject line“Notify Me Thread,” also shown in FIG. 11E, is now a VIP thread.Selection of the notification element 1104 or associating an emailthread as a VIP thread changes notification rules for replies tomessages of the email thread. A notification rule includes displaying aVIP thread indicator 1108 for subsequent messages of the email thread.

In addition to the VIP thread indicator 1108, additional notificationrules include a user associated with the account receiving pushnotifications for the email thread with the VIP thread indicator 1108,as shown in FIG. 12 or any other configured notification type. FIG. 12illustrates a locked or initial screen of the device 100, according toan embodiment. The message portion 1106A is shown on the locked orinitial screen. In one embodiment, the message portion 1106A can includea VIP thread indicator 1108 (not shown).

VIP of Existing Threads in an Email Client Module UI and Gestures

Though previously described in the context of drafting a new email,existing email threads 1106, 506 can be associated with a VIP Threadindicator 1108 as well. As shown in FIG. 13A, an existing email thread506A is not currently associated with a VIP thread indicator 1108. Theuser can display sheet options 528 for the email thread 506A using adisplay gesture as previously described in FIG. 5 with contact 1326.Responsive to completion of the display gesture or once the thresholddistance or rate is reached as shown in FIG. 13B, the sheet options 528appear to the right of the message portion 506A, according to thisembodiment. In this embodiment, the sheet options 528 include a notifyoption 528B. Upon selection of the notify option 528B such as through asheet gesture as previously described in FIG. 8, as shown by contact1326 with the notify option 528B or user interface element associatedwith the notify option 528B in FIG. 13C, a sheet 1300 is displayed forthe notify option 528B. In one embodiment, the sheet 1300 includes thefollowing actions to take with the message portion 506A or the messageassociated with the message portion 506A: notify me, flag, go tosettings, and cancel. The included actions can be customized by the userof the device 100 through a settings application of the device 100,further described in conjunction with FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 13D, auser can select a “turn off notifications” action, shown by contact 1326with the turn off notifications action in the sheet 1300, to associatethe email thread 506A with a notification element 1104 and,consequently, a VIP thread indicator 1108.

Responsive to selection of the turn off notifications action in thesheet 1300 in FIG. 13D, the email thread 506A and any future messagesassociated with the email thread 506A, such as a message portion 1106B,no longer include a VIP thread indicator 1108. In a similar manner asdescribed in FIG. 13, an email thread 1106B can also be de-associatedwith a VIP thread indicator 1108. The user can display sheet options 528and a sheet 1400 associated with the notify option 528B using thedisplay gesture and the sheet gesture with contact 1426, shown in FIGS.14A, 14B, and 14C in a similar manner as described in FIGS. 5, 6, and13. If the email thread 1106B is already associated with a VIP threadindicator 1108, the sheet 1400 can display different actions from theactions shown in the sheet 1300. For example, as shown in FIG. 14D, thesheet 1400 includes the following actions to take with the email thread1106B: turn off notifications, flag, go to settings, and cancel. Again,the included actions can be customized by the user as describedpreviously in FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 14D, a user can select the “turnoff notifications” action, shown by contact 1426 with the turn offnotifications action in the sheet 1400, to de-associate the emailmessage or future email messages in the email thread 1106B from the VIPthread indicator 1108. As shown in FIG. 14E, past email messagesassociated with the email thread 506A, such as the message portion1106B, can still have the VIP thread indicator 1108 and future emails,such as the message portion 1106C, do not have the VIP thread indicator1108. In an alternative embodiment, the email message associated withthe message portion 1106B, the email thread 1106C, the email thread506A, or any combination thereof can be de-associated with thenotification element 1104.

Method for VIP Threads in an Email Client Module UI

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a method for associating a notificationelement 1104 with an email thread 506, 1106 in an email application,according to one embodiment. Embodiments of the process described heremay be implemented on an electronic device with a touch-sensitivesurface and display, such as device 100. Within a messaging applicationof the electronic device, in response to receiving an action to composea message, a composition interface is displayed 1505 in the messagingapplication. For example, the action can be contact 1126 of anadditional user interface element (e.g., new draft element 524) andcontact with the additional user interface element is indicative ofdisplaying the composition interface. The composition interface is aninterface for drafting a new message in the email application.

Within the composition interface, a selectable user interface element isdisplayed 1510 that, when selected, changes notification rules forreplies to the message. In one embodiment, the selectable user interfaceelement displayed is 1512 a bell, an outline of a bell, a shaded bell,or any other suitable graphically altered bell. Alternative embodimentsof the selectable user interface element are described further inconjunction with FIGS. 11E and 11F. In one embodiment, the selectableuser interface element is displayed on a subject line of the compositioninterface. For example, the selectable user interface element can appearor be visually distinguished from a previously displayed selectable userinterface element (e.g., grey outline of a bell) in response toindication of a cursor in the composition interface in the subject line,as shown in FIG. 11C.

Notification rules include 1514 displaying an additional user interfaceadjacent to subsequently received messages in the conversation threadcorresponding to the message, receiving push notifications forsubsequently received messages in the conversation thread correspondingto the message, and any combination thereof, as further described inconjunction with FIGS. 11E and 11F. The additional user interfaceelement displayed adjacent to subsequently received messages can be abell, an outline of a bell, a shaded bell and any other visuallydistinguished elements as described in conjunction with FIG. 11D. In oneembodiment, the conversation notification can be the same as thedisplayed selectable user interface element but the conversationnotification is not selectable.

A contact 1126 on the touch-sensitive surface is detected 1515 at alocation on the display corresponding to the selectable user interfaceelement within the composition interface. The contact 1126 is indicativeof selection of the selectable user interface element. In response todetection of the selection, an appearance of the selectable userinterface element is changed 1520 within the composition interface toindicate the activation of a notification rule that a subsequentlyreceived message in a conversation or email thread corresponding to themessage will trigger a conversation notification, as described inconjunction with FIG. 13A. A changed appearance of the selectable userinterface element within the composition interface further comprises1522 changing a graphical indication of the selectable user interfaceelement. Graphical indications include color, shape, size, location, andany combination thereof of the selectable user interface element. Theconversation notification can be a push notification indicative of asubsequently received message on the electronic device outside themessaging application. In addition, the push notification can bedisplayed when the electronic device is locked and the display isinactive.

In a similar method as described previously in conjunction with FIG. 10,a user interface element can be displayed for subsequently receivedmessages associated with the message composed. An additional contact isdetected on the touch-sensitive surface and, without breaking contactwith the touch-sensitive surface, continuous movement of the contact ina first direction at a location on the display corresponding to messagesassociated with the message is detected. One or more parameters of themovement of the contact are determined and, in accordance with adetermination that a parameter of the movement meets a first criterion,a user interface element representing an action to change notificationrules for replies to the message (e.g., notify me option 528B), isdisplayed. Then, the user interface element representing the action tochange notification rules can be selected.

Selection of the user interface element representing the action tochange notification rules results in changed notification rules that aredifferent or opposite of the notification rules described above. Forexample, the notification rules include not displaying an additionaluser element adjacent to subsequently received messages in theconversation thread corresponding to the message, not receiving pushnotifications for subsequently received messages in the conversationthread corresponding to the message, and any combination thereof.Alternatively, selection of the user interface element can display asheet 1300 and 1400 for additional actions to change notification rules,as described in conjunction with FIGS. 13 and 14. The additional actionsdisplayed on the sheet include turning off notifications forsubsequently received messages, flagging subsequently received messages,a go to settings action, and any combination thereof

Ignoring Threads in an Email Client Module UI and Gestures

Email threads 506 also can be ignored. As shown in FIG. 16A, illustratedis a gesture for selecting an expanded swipe option 628 in an emailapplication, according to one embodiment. For example, the sheet gesturewith contact 1626 is the sheet gesture as described previously in FIGS.8 and 14. In the example, the expanded swipe option 628 is the trashoption 528C. In one embodiment, the expanded swipe option 628 is onlyavailable or offered if the email thread includes multiple emailmessages. In one embodiment, a prompt 1600 is displayed responsive tocompletion of the sheet gesture or once the threshold distance or rateis reached, as shown in FIG. 16B. The prompt 1600 prompts the user toselect to trash the email message associated with a message portion 506Bor apply ignore options instead, shown as buttons 1602 and 1604respectively. Selection of the button 1602 with contact 1626 moves theemail associated with the message portion 1106B into the trash. In analternative embodiment, the email associated with the message portion1106B may automatically be trashed after completion of the sheet gestureor once the threshold distance or rate is reached and no prompt, analternative prompt, or a sheet 1606 can be displayed. Selection of thebutton 1604 with contact 1626 displays a sheet 1606 for ignore options,as shown in FIG. 16C. The sheet 1606 includes the following ignoreoptions: trash thread, archive thread, mark thread as read, turn offalerts for thread, go to settings, and cancel. The included ignoreoptions can be customized by the user as described further inconjunction with FIG. 17.

Just as email threads can be ignored, email threads can also beun-ignored. In one embodiment, the email thread can be un-ignoredmanually (e.g., through the expanded sheet option 628) or automatically.For example, the email thread can be automatically un-ignored if areengage condition is met such as a VIP sender replies to the emailthread, the sender replies to the user only, the user's name ismentioned in an email message of the email thread, or any otheruser-specific information appears in the email thread.

Customization of Ignore Options in an Email Client Module UI

FIGS. 17A-D illustrate pages 1702, 1704, 1706, and 1708 in anapplication view of a settings application, according to one embodiment.FIG. 17 describes customizing the ignore options in sheet 1606. Inalternative embodiments, different application(s) other than the settingapplication or different page(s) in the settings application can be usedto customize the ignore options in sheet 1606.

FIG. 17A illustrates an “expand” gesture in a notification center 1702associated with the settings application. The expand gesture withcontact 1726 is similar or the same as the expand gesture with contact926 previously described in FIG. 9A. Responsive to the expand gesturewith contact 1726 with the representation of the “Mail” icon 418, a mailpage 1704 is displayed in the settings application, as shown in FIG.17B. In the mail page 1704, the user can select whether to activateignore options in the email application through, as an example,selection of a radio button. Responsive to contact 1726 with the radiobutton, a customize option may become available as shown in the modifiedmail page 1706 in FIG. 17C. Responsive to an expand gesture detected bythe device 100 for the customize option, for example through contact1726 with the customize option, a customize ignore options page 1708 isdisplayed in the settings application. The customize swipe options page1708 includes an option to customize the sheet options and customizealert settings associated with sheet options. In a similar manner asdescribed previously in FIG. 9, the user can customize the sheetoptions, shown in FIG. 17D. For example, the options include trashthread, archive thread, mark thread as read, and go to settings, asshown in FIG. 16C. Additional options include unsubscribe, no alerts,move to special folder (through a filter on inbox), and demote (emailthreads are not presented in chronological order and/or future emailmessages are kept with the email thread or email message associated withthe message portion 1106B associated with the ignore option such asemail thread 1106B).

Method for Ignoring Threads in an Email Client Module UI

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method for ignoring an email thread in anemail application, according to one embodiment. Embodiments of theprocess described here may be implemented on an electronic device with adisplay, such as device 100. Information corresponding to a plurality ofmessages in a messaging application is displayed 1805, as previouslydescribed in conjunction with FIG. 5B. Information includes senderinformation, subject information, and a portion of the email ormessages. In addition, information can include indicators such as anattachment indicator, a VIP sender indicator, and a VIP threadindicator.

Input at a location on the display corresponding to a displayed messageis received 1810. The input indicates deletion of the displayed message.Input, for example, is a contact 1626 with the location on the displaycorresponding to the displayed message. In addition, the location on thedisplay corresponding to the displayed message can display a selectableuser interface element corresponding to a request for deletion of thedisplayed message. In one embodiment, the selectable user interfaceelement is an expanded swipe option 628 displayed instead of thedisplayed message, as shown and described in FIGS. 6D, 6E and 16A.

In response to receiving the input, a plurality of selectable userinterface elements representing deletion actions to be taken onsubsequent messages in a conversation thread corresponding to thedisplayed message is displayed 1815 proximate to the location of thedisplayed message. The plurality of selectable user interface elementsrepresenting deletion actions to be taken can be displayed in a sheet1606 as shown in FIG. 16C and include unsubscribe, move to designatedfolder, demote and any combination thereof. In one embodiment, aselectable user interface element representing an unsubscribe deletionaction includes trash displayed message, trash subsequently receivedmessages of the displayed message, trash conversation thread (e.g.,trash thread) corresponding to the displayed message, archive displayedmessage, archive subsequently received messages of the displayedmessage, archive conversation thread (e.g., archive thread)corresponding to the displayed message, mark displayed message as read,mark subsequently received messages of the displayed message as read,mark the conversation thread as read, turn off all alerts forsubsequently received messages of the displayed message, turn off allalerts for the conversation thread and any combination thereof. Aselectable user interface element representing a demote deletion actionincludes displaying subsequently received messages of the displayedmessage are presented with the conversation thread and not as a newmessage of the conversation thread.

In one embodiment, in response to receiving the input, a prompt 1600 isdisplayed 1817, as shown in FIG. 16B, requesting confirmation ofdeletion of the displayed message. For example, the request can be aquestion such as “Apply an ignore option to all emails in the thread?”as shown in FIG. 16B. The prompt requesting confirmation of deletion ofthe displayed message includes selectable user interface elementsincluding deletion of the displayed message, deletion of theconversation thread corresponding to the displayed message, request foradditional deletion actions, and any combination thereof. For example,the selectable user interface elements can be “No, trash thread” 1602,and “Yes, options . . . ” 1604 for the question shown on the prompt 160in FIG. 16B. In response to receiving an additional input to the prompt,the plurality of selectable user interface elements representingdeletion actions to be taken on subsequent messages in a conversationthread corresponding to the displayed message is displayed 1819proximate to the location of the displayed message, in a similar manneras described in step 1815. In response to selection of one of theplurality of selectable user interface elements, the displayed messageis deleted 1820 and a deletion action is set for subsequently receivedmessages in the conversation thread, as previously described in step1815.

In response to a reengage condition being met by a subsequently receivedmessage of the displayed message, the selected deletion action for thesubsequently received message and additional subsequently receivedmessages of the subsequently received message of the display message isremoved 1822. Reengage conditions include a sender previously designatedas a VIP sender replies to the email thread, the sender replies to auser associated with the electronic device, the sender replies to a userassociated with the electronic device only, the user's name is mentionedin an email message of the conversation thread, and any combinationthereof as previously described in conjunction with FIG. 16.

Draft Emails UI

FIG. 19A illustrates a mail application view 504 of an emailapplication, according to one embodiment. The mail application view 504displays portions of email messages of email threads 506A, 506B 506C,506D, 506E from the inbox of the user's email account, as described inFIGS. 5B and 11 IA. Contact 1910 is detected by the device 100 on a newdraft element 524. Responsive to the detected contact 1910, a messagecomposition interface or a first draft UI 1900A is shown as illustratedin FIG. 19B, according to one embodiment. As displayed, the draft UI1900A is displayed on top of the mail application view 504. FIG. 19Balso illustrates contact 1910 detected by the device 100 on the newdraft element 524 again. Responsive to the detected contact 1910, asecond draft UI 1900B is displayed on top of the first draft UI 1900A,both the first and second draft UIs 1900A and 1900B displayed on top ofthe mail application view 504 in one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19C.Alternatively, responsive to the detected contact 1910 in FIG. 19B, thefirst draft UI 1900A could be displayed in a draft section 1902 of themail application view 504, as shown in FIG. 19D, and the second draft UI1900B could be displayed on top of the mail application view 504including the draft section 1902.

Although the first and second draft UIs 1900A and 1900B are displayed ata width narrower than width of the touchscreen 112 of the device 100, inalternative embodiments, the draft UIs 1900A and 1900B can be displayedat a full width and height equal to the width and height of thetouchscreen 112. In addition, the draft UIs 1900 also are moveable whendisplayed on top of other draft UIs 1900 or the mail application view504 according to one embodiment. A user can touch-and-drag the draft UIs1900 through a contact with the header or a portion of the draft UIs1900.

Draft UIs 1900 displayed on top of the mail application view 504 or themail application view 504 and the draft section 1902 can be minimized tothe draft section 1902 using a minimize gesture as shown in FIG. 19D,according to one embodiment. FIGS. 19D and 19E illustrate the minimizegesture for minimizing draft UIs 1900 in an email application, accordingto one embodiment. The minimize gesture is indicative of a user requestto minimize draft UIs 1900 displayed on top of the mail application view504 in the email application. The minimize gesture may include a swipein a direction substantially perpendicular to the width of the messageportion 506. In one embodiment, the minimize gesture can be a swipe allthe way down into a draft section 1902.

In one embodiment, the minimize gesture includes dragging a contact athreshold distance from an initial position to a second position on topof the mail application view 504. For example, a contact 1926 isdetected by the device 100 at an initial position in the message portion506B, as shown in FIG. 19D. The contact 1926 is maintained and dragged athreshold distance in a direction substantially perpendicular with thewidth of the message portion 506B to a second position in the messageportion 506B, as shown in FIG. 19E. For example, the contact 1926 ismaintained from the initial position a threshold distance to the secondposition shown in FIGS. 19D and 19E in a continuous movement without thecontact breaking contact with the touch screen 112 of the device 100. Inanother embodiment, instead of a threshold distance, the minimizegesture includes dragging a contact at a threshold rate on top of theone or more draft UIs 1900 displayed on top of the mail application view504. Thus, the contact 1926 is maintained and dragged at a rate in adirection substantially perpendicular with the width of the messageportion 506B. In other embodiments, other parameters of the maintainedcontact 1926 are evaluated for the minimize gesture. The otherparameters besides distance and rate can be strength of pressure of thecontact or number of contact points, or other measurable parameters.

After completion of the minimize gesture or the threshold distance orrate is reached, draft UIs 1900 displayed on top of the mail applicationview 504 are minimized or dropped down into a draft section 1902, asshown in FIG. 19E. In one embodiment, the draft UIs 1900 minimize ordrop down into the draft section 1902 and the movement of the draft UIs1900 into the draft section 1902 is continuous and/or proportional tothe distance or a normalized distance or at a rate reached by thecontact 1926 in a similar manner as the threshold distances andthreshold rates described in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. In the embodiment wherethe draft UIs 1900 are partially displayed as the contact 1926 ismaintained, if the contact 1926 s not maintained until the thresholddistance is reached and/or broken, portions of the draft UIs 1900 stillvisible can be displayed on top of the mail application view 504. Inanother embodiment, the draft UIs 1900 can “rubber band” or snap to thedraft section 1902 after a threshold is crossed by the contact 1926.

Draft UIs 1900 displayed in a draft section 1902 or on top of the mailapplication view 504 can be removed with a remove gesture as shown inFIG. 20A. The draft UIs 1900 can be dismissed based on threshold ratesand threshold distances of contact 2026 movement. The remove gesturesdismiss or cancel a draft UI 1900A through contact 2026 with the draftUI 1900A, as shown in FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C, and can be based on athreshold distance or a threshold rate. In addition, the remove gesturecan reach a designated location (e.g., edge of the screen 112) and thusdismiss or cancel the draft UI 1900A.

FIG. 21A illustrates a mail application view 504 of an emailapplication, according to one embodiment. For example, the illustratedmail application view 504 is similar to the illustrated mail applicationview 504 in FIG. 19A. Contact 2126 is detected by the device 100 on anew draft element 524, for example, through a draft gesture aspreviously described in FIG. 11A. Responsive to the detected contact2126, a message composition interface or a third draft UI 1900C is shownas illustrated in FIG. 21B in the draft section 1902. In thisembodiment, the draft UI 1900C is displayed in the draft section 1902instead of on top of the mail application view 504. FIG. 19B alsoillustrates contact 1910 detected by the device 100 on the draft UI1900B. Responsive to the detected contact 1910, the draft UI 1900B isdisplayed on top of the mail application view 504, as shown in FIG. 21C.

While a draft UI 1900B is displayed on top of the mail application view504, the user can still access the email messages associated withmessage portions 506 in their account. FIG. 22A illustrates a “thread”gesture for expanding an existing email message associated with themessage portion in an email application with a draft UI 1900B displayedon top of the mail application view 504, according to one embodiment.Responsive to selection of the email message associated with a messageportion 506B, the draft UI 1900B is minimized to the draft section 1902and message portion 506B is displayed in a thread section 2204, as shownin FIG. 22B, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 23A illustrates a landscape view of icons for applications of thedevice 100, according to one embodiment. For example, the tray 408 iconsand icons for other applications are similar icons as displayed in aportrait view of the device 100 as shown in FIG. 5A. In a similar manneras described in FIG. 5A, a launch gesture is used to execute the emailclient module 140 through contact 2326 with the “Mail” icon 418, shownin FIG. 23A.

FIG. 23B illustrates a mail application view 504 of an emailapplication, according to one embodiment. For example, the mailapplication view 504 includes email messages of email threads 506A,506B, 506C, 506D, 506E, 2306A and 2306B from the inbox of the user'semail account. Each message portion 506, 2306 displays senderinformation 508, subject information 510, and a portion of the body ofthe email 512. In addition, a message portion 506, 2306 can includeindicators such as an attachment indicator 514 and a VIP senderindicator 516, as described in FIG. 5B, and the message portions 506,2306 can also include a VIP thread indicator 1108 (not shown) describedin FIG. 11. As also described in FIG. 5B, additional user interfaceelements are displayed in the mail application view 504 and include aback element 518, an edit element 520, a refresh element 522, and a newdraft element 524. The mail application view 504 can also include anarchive element 2302, a trash icon 2304, and a reply action element2306. The archive element 2302 archives a selected email thread 506,2306, the trash icon 2304 trashes a selected email thread 506, 2306, andthe reply action element 2306 allows the user to reply to a selectedemail thread 506, 2306.

Illustrated in FIG. 23B is a gesture, as previously described in FIG.22B, to display an email message associated with a message portion 506B.Responsive to the thread gesture, the email message associated with themessage portion 506B is displayed in a thread section 2204, as shown inFIG. 23C, according to one embodiment. When a draft gesture, asdescribed previously in FIG. 11A, is received on the new draft element524, as shown in FIG. 23C through contact 2326, a first draft UI 1900Ais displayed on top of the thread section 2204 the mail application view504, as shown in FIG. 23D, according to one embodiment. In FIG. 23D, anadditional draft gesture is received and a second draft UI 1900B isdisplayed on top of the thread section 2204 and the first draft UI1900A, as shown in FIG. 23E, according to one embodiment.

In an alternative embodiment, in response to receiving a draft gesturethrough a contact 2326 in FIG. 23C, the first draft UI 1900A isdisplayed in a draft section 1902 and can be displayed at a width of thetouch screen 112 of the device 100, as shown in FIG. 23F, according toone embodiment. Responsive to receiving another draft gesture throughcontact 2326 in FIG. 23F, the second draft UI 1900B is displayed in thedraft section 1902 and the second draft UI 1900A as well and can bedisplayed at a width of or a smaller width than the width of the touchscreen 112 as well, as shown in FIG. 23G, according to one embodiment.In addition, the width of the second draft UI 1900B can be at the widthof or a smaller width than the width of the touch screen 112 as well.

In yet another embodiment, in response to receiving a draft gesturethrough a contact 2326 in FIG. 23C, the first draft UI 1900A isdisplayed in a draft section 1902 and can be displayed at a width of ora smaller width than the width of the thread section 2204, as shown inFIG. 23H, according to one embodiment. Responsive to receiving anotherdraft gesture through contact 2326 in FIG. 23H, the second draft UI1900B is displayed in the draft section 1902 and the second draft UI1900A as well and can be displayed at a width of or a smaller width thanthe width of the thread section 2204, as shown in FIG. 23I, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 24A illustrates a minimize gesture to minimize draft UIs 1900 to asmaller draft section 1902, according to one embodiment. The minimizegesture can be the same as the minimize gesture previously described inFIG. 19, according to one embodiment. Contact 2426 is detected by thedevice 100 at an initial position and maintained to a second position,completing the minimize gesture, as shown in FIG. 24B, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 25A illustrates a “remove” gesture to remove a draft UI 1900,according to one embodiment. The remove gesture can be the same as theremove gesture previously described in FIG. 20. Contact 2526 is detectedby the device 100 at an initial position and maintained to a secondposition, completing the remove gesture, as shown in FIGS. 25B and 25C,according to one embodiment. Alternatively, a draft UI 1900 can beremoved through selection of the “cancel” element, similar to the“close” element 1904 in FIG. 19.

FIG. 26A illustrates a “draft” gesture indicative of a request to drafta new email, according to one embodiment. The draft gesture can be thesame as the draft gesture previously described in FIGS. 11A and 21A forcontact 2626. Responsive to completion of the draft gesture or once thethreshold distance or rate is reached, a third draft UI 1900C isdisplayed in the draft section 1902 on top of the second draft UI 1900B,as shown in FIG. 26B, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 26B illustrates contact 2626 detected by the device 100 with thethird draft UI 1900C. Responsive to the detected contact 2626, the draftUI 1900B is presented in a larger draft section 1902 in the mailapplication view 504, as shown in FIG. 26C, according to one embodiment.In another embodiment, the draft UI 1900B can be displayed on top of thethread section 2204 and the draft section 1902. The width of the draftUIs 1900 in the draft section 1902 can be at a width equal to or lessthan width of the thread section 2204.

While a draft UI 1900B is displayed in a larger draft section 1902 or ontop of the thread section 2204 and the draft section 1902, the user canstill access the email threads 506, 2306 in their account. FIG. 27Aillustrates a gesture for expanding an existing email thread 506A in anemail application with a draft UI 1900B displayed in a larger draftsection 1902, according to one embodiment. Responsive to selection ofthe email message associated with the message portion 506A throughcontact 2726, the draft UI 1900B is minimized to the smaller draftsection 1902 and the email message associated with the message portion506A is displayed in an expanded thread section 2204, as shown in FIG.27B, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a method for displaying message compositioninterfaces or draft UIs in an email thread in an email application,according to one embodiment. Embodiments of the process described heremay be implemented on an electronic device with a touch-sensitivesurface and display, such as device 100. A first composition interface(e.g., 1900A in FIG. 19B) is displayed 2805 and the first compositioninterface includes a first message. For example, the first compositioninterface, including the first message, is displayed in response toreceiving another action to compose the first message. While displayingthe first composition interface, an action is received 2810 to compose asecond message. The action is a contact (e.g., 1926 in FIGS. 19 and 2326in FIG. 23C) with an additional user interface element and contact withthe additional user interface element is indicative of displaying acomposition interface (e.g., the first and second compositioninterfaces). For example, the additional user interface element is thenew draft element 524, as shown in FIGS. 19B and 23C.

In response to receiving 2810 the action, a second composition interface(e.g., 1900B in FIG. C) is displayed 2815, the first compositioninterface is displayed 2820 in a first portion and the secondcomposition interface is displayed 2825 in a second portion. Inaddition, the first and the second composition interfaces are resizable.In various embodiments, the area of the first portion and the area ofthe second portion can be equal or different. For example, the area ofthe second portion is greater than the area of the first portion andthis can be in response to the second portion displaying the secondcomposition interface while displaying the first composition interface.Since the second composition interface was displayed while the firstcomposition interface was displayed, the second composition interfacecan also be displayed on top of the first composition interface invarious embodiments.

A second contact (e.g., 1926 and 2426) can be received on thetouch-sensitive surface at a location corresponding to a compositioninterface (e.g., the first composition interface or the secondcomposition interface). Continuous movement of the second contact in afirst direction, without breaking the second contact with thetouch-sensitive surface, is detected, as shown in FIGS. 19D and 19E. Oneor more parameters of the movement of the second contact are determinedand, in accordance with a determination that a parameter of the movementmeets a first criterion, the first composition interface and the secondcomposition interface are displayed in a third portion (e.g., draftsection 1902 in FIG. 20A) below a list comprising informationcorresponding to a plurality of email messages associated with themessaging application. Portions of the plurality of email messages canbe displayed as shown in the message portion 506A-D in FIG. 20.

In a similar manner, a third contact can be received on thetouch-sensitive surface at a location corresponding to the thirdportion. Continuous movement of the second contact in a seconddirection, without breaking the third contact with the touch-sensitivesurface, is detected. One or more parameters of the movement of thethird contact are determined and, in accordance with a determinationthat a parameter of the movement meets a first criterion, the firstcomposition interface and the second composition interface are displayedin a fourth portion below the list comprising information correspondingto the plurality of email messages associated with the messagingapplication, wherein the area of the fourth portion greater than thearea of the third portion, as shown in FIG. 26C.

Composition interfaces can also be removed. A fifth contact (e.g., 2026and 2526) is received on the touch-sensitive surface at a locationcorresponding to first composition interface and continuous movement ofthe fifth contact in a third direction, without breaking the fifthcontact with the touch-sensitive surface, is detected, as shown in FIGS.20 and 25. One or more of the parameters of the movement of the fifthcontact are determined and, in accordance with a determination that aparameter of the movement meets a third criterion, the first compositioninterface is closed. Alternatively, a sixth contact is received 2822 onthe touch-sensitive surface at a location corresponding to a selectableuser interface element displayed on the first composition interface. Inresponse to receiving the sixth contact at the location, the firstcomposition interface is closed 2824.

In one embodiment, the first direction is a downward motion,substantially parallel with the orientation of the display and thesecond direction is opposite of the first direction and stillsubstantially parallel with the orientation of the display. The thirddirection, then, is substantially perpendicular to the first and seconddirection and, therefore, to the orientation of the display. The one ormore parameters include distance, rate, strength of pressure of thecontact, number of contact points, and any combination thereof, aspreviously described in conjunction with FIG. 10. In addition, thecriteria (e.g, first, second, and third criterion) include a thresholddistance, a threshold rate, threshold strength of pressure of thecontact, a threshold number of contact points, and any combinationthereof, as also previously described in conjunction with FIG. 10.

Conversation View in an Email UI

FIG. 29A illustrates an application view 504 of an email application,according to one embodiment. The application view 504 displays emailmessages or email threads 506A, 506B 506C, 506D, 506E from the inbox ofthe user's email account. Each email message or thread 506 displayssender information 508, subject information 510, and a portion of thebody of the email 512. In one embodiment the sender information includesthe name of the sender, e.g. the sender's first or last name, and thetime or date when the email message was received. In case of an emailthread, the sender information 508B includes a list of names of thesenders who participate in the email thread. In this case, the time anddate typically indicate when the last email message in the thread wasreceived. In one embodiment, the list of names is truncated to fitwithin a line of the displayed email thread 506A as shown in FIG. 29A.The displayed, truncated list may include the character string “ . . . ”to indicate the truncation of the sender information 508B.

Contact 2910 is detected by the device 100 on the email thread 506B. Thecontact 2910 in one embodiment is a tap on the email thread 506B.Responsive to the detected contact 2910, the application view 504 of theemail application displays email messages 2920A, 2920B, 2920C, 2920D,and 2920E from the email thread 506B as illustrated in FIG. 29B,according to one embodiment. Each email message 2920 displays senderinformation 508, and a portion of the body of the email 512. The senderinformation 508 include name of the sender of the email message 2920,who participates in the email thread 506B. Email messages of the emailthread 506B that are not initially displayed in the application view 504after contact 2910 can be displayed following a scrolling gesture 2921.This scrolling gesture is applied in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the text lines of the displayed email messages, asshown in FIG. 29B. Applying this scrolling gesture displays emailmessages that follow email message 2920E in the email thread 505B. Oncethese subsequent email messages are displayed, reversing the directionof the scrolling gesture displays email messages that precede thecurrently displayed email messages in the email thread 506B.

As displayed, an additional user interface element that is a threadheader element 2930 is displayed in the application view 504 above thedisplayed email message 2920A. The thread header element 2930 may showthe subject line common to the email messages and the number of emailmessages (items) in the email thread 506B. Furthermore, the titleelement 2931 displays the character string “Thread” indicating to theuser that an email thread is displayed in the application view 504.

FIG. 29B also illustrates a first expand gesture in the application view504 associated with the email thread 506B, according to one embodiment.The first expand gesture with contact 2932 is a tap on the thread headerelement 2930. Responsive to the first expand gesture with contact 2932detected by the device 100, the thread header element expands to displaya list of names of senders who participate in the email thread 506B. Inone embodiment, the displayed names in the list include only the firstnames of the senders. If the email thread 506B includes senders havingthe same first names, the list includes their first name and the initialof their last name as shown in FIG. 29C. Alternatively, the list ofsender names as displayed includes the first and last names of eachsender. The display order of first and last name may vary and canoptionally be selected by the user of the email application. In case thelast name is displayed first, a comma is displayed after the last nameto visually separate the last from the first name of the sender.

FIG. 29C illustrates expanding the thread header element 2930 in anemail application, according to one embodiment. The first expand gestureis indicative of a user request to expand the thread header element 2930to display a thread participants section 2934 below a subject linesection 2936. The thread participants section 2934 includes the sendernames of email messages in the thread, whereas the subject line section2936 includes a subject line, which is common to the email messages inthe thread, and a number of messages (items) in the thread. Below thethread header element 2930 the email messages 2920A, 29210B, 2920C, and2920D are displayed in the application view 504. If the list of sendernames in the email thread requires more than two lines to be displayedin thread participants section 2934, the section 2934 includes a moreoption 2938 that allows for displaying additional lines including sendernames not displayed in the first two lines.

FIG. 29C also illustrates a second expand gesture in the applicationview 504 associated with the email thread 506B, according to oneembodiment. The second expand gesture with contact 2940 is similar orthe same as the expand gesture with contact 926 previously described inFIG. 9A. In one embodiment, the second expand gesture includes, forexample, a tap or contact on an option as a more option 2938, shown as acontact 2940 in FIG. 29C. The more option 2938 is displayed as part ofthe thread participant section 2934. Responsive to the second expandgesture with contact 2940 detected by the device 100, the section 2934expands to display the names of all the senders in the thread, as shownin FIG. 29D. With the display of all the participant names the moreoption 2938 is no longer displayed in the thread participant section2934. Instead of the more option, a hide option 2944 is displayed in thethread participant section 2934, as shown in FIG. 29D.

Similar to the first two lines in the thread participant section 2934,only the first name of the senders may be displayed in any additionallines. In other embodiments, first and abbreviated or unabbreviated lastname, or last name followed by comma and first name for each participantare displayed as described above. Senders who were not originally partof the email thread, but added by the user of the email application tothe thread, as described below, have a “+” sign displayed in front oftheir displayed names 2941. In comparison, senders who are excluded bythe user from the email thread, as described below, have their displayednames 2942 struck through as shown in FIGS. 29C-E (e.g., Mike).

FIG. 29D illustrates a gesture in the application view 504 associatedwith the email thread 506B, according to one embodiment. In oneembodiment, the hide gesture includes a tap or contact on the hideoption 2944, shown as contact 2946 in FIG. 19D. Responsive to the hidegesture with contact 2946 detected by the device 100 on the hide option2944 displayed in the thread participants section 2934, the section 2934is contracted to again display the more option 2938 and only the firsttwo lines of sender names who participate in the email thread, as shownin FIG. 29C.

FIG. 29D also illustrates a filter gesture in the application view 504associated with the email thread 506B, according to one embodiment. Theselect-sender gesture includes a contact on a name in the threadparticipant section 2934, shown as contact 2948 in FIG. 19D. In theexample of FIG. 19D, the sender named “Andrew” is selected responsive tothe “select-sender” gesture with contact 2948 detected by the device100. Additional senders may be selected by the select-sender gestureincluding a tap on their corresponding names displayed in the threadparticipant section 2934 (not shown). Upon selection of a sender name,the name of the selected sender in the thread participant section 2934appears visually distinguished. For example, the selected name 2950 isdisplayed in a bold font in section 2934, shown in FIG. 29E. Names ofsenders that are not selected appear visually distinguished from thenames of the selected senders. As shown in FIG. 29E, the names ofunselected senders are displayed in regular and not bold font.

A deselect-sender gesture in the application view 504 associated withthe email thread 506B includes a tap on a sender name in the threadparticipant section 2934 provided that the deselect-sender gesturesfollows the select-sender gesture for that particular sender name.Following the first expand gesture, alone or in combination with asecond expand gesture, without any prior select-sender gesture alldisplayed names in the thread participant section 2934 are selected, andthe deselect-sender gesture for these displayed names would have noeffect, leaving all displayed names selected. In this case, selecting adisplayed name with a select-sender gesture unselects all displayed andselected names that are not selected by the select-sender gesture. Theunselected, displayed names as described above appear visuallydistinguished from the selected sender name. For the example shown inFIG. 29E, “Gregg,” “Sam,” “Logan,” “+Chip T.,” “Chip D.,” “David R.,”“Mike,” “Roger,” “Michelle,” “Steve,” and “Christine” are names ofunselected senders and are displayed in regular, not bold font.

FIG. 29E illustrates displaying only email messages of a selected senderin response to a select-sender gesture in the application view 504associated with the email thread 506B, according to one embodiment.Responsive to the select-sender gesture with contact 2948 detected bythe device 100, only email messages 2960A, 2960B, 2960C, and 2960Dassociated with the selected sender (“Andrew”) are displayed in theapplication view 504. Email messages from other senders in the emailthread are not displayed so long as these senders are not selected, asillustrated in FIG. 29E.

FIG. 30A illustrates an application view 504 of an email application,according to one embodiment. For example, the application view 504includes email messages 506A, 506C, 506D, 506E, 506F and 506G or emailthread 506B from the inbox of the user's email account. Each emailmessage or thread 506 displays sender information 508, subjectinformation 510, and a portion of the body of the email 512. Inaddition, an email message or thread 506 can include indicators such asan attachment indicator 514 and a VIP sender indicator 516, as describedin FIG. 5B, and in case of an email threads 506 a VIP thread indicator1108 (not shown), as described in FIG. 11. As also described in FIGS. 5Band 23B, additional user interface elements are displayed in theapplication view 504 and include a back element 518, an edit element520, a refresh element 522, a new draft element 524, an archive element2302, a trash icon 2304, and a reply action element 2306. Furthermore,an email thread 506 can include an item indicator 3010 that displays thenumber of email messages included in the thread.

FIG. 30A also illustrates a thread gesture 3011, as previously describedin FIG. 22B, to display the email thread 506B in a thread section 3012of the application view 504, according to one embodiment. Responsive tothe thread gesture 3011 that includes a tap on the email thread 506B andis detected by the device 100, the content of the email thread isdisplayed in a thread section 3012. The displayed content includes emailmessages 3020A, 3020B, and 3020C from the email thread 506B in the inboxof the user's email as illustrated in FIG. 30A. As displayed, anadditional user interface element that is a thread header element 3022is displayed in the application view 504 above the displayed emailmessages 3020A, 3020B, and 3020C. The thread header element 3022 showsthe subject line common to the email messages and may also display thedate and the time when the last email message was received in the emailthread. Optionally, the thread header element 3022 displays the numberof email messages (items) in the email thread 506B.

FIG. 30A further illustrates expanding the thread header element 3022 inan email application, according to one embodiment. The expand gesture isindicative of a user request to expand the thread header element 3022 todisplay a thread participants section 3024 that includes the names ofthe participants in the email thread 506B below a subject line section3026 that includes the subject line common to the email messages and thenumber of items in the email thread 506B, as illustrated in FIG. 30B.Below the thread header element 3022 the email messages 3020A, 3020B,and 3020C are display in the application view 504.

As illustrated in FIG. 30A, the email messages 3020A, 3020B, and 3020Cdisplayed in the thread section 3012 may include header section 3025including sender information 3026, a details option 3028 to showadditional sender information, and a portion of the body of the email3030 including a more option 3032 to show the remaining portion of thebody of the email not already displayed. In response to an optiongesture including a tap (not shown), the details option 3028 displaysadditional sender information about the email, including but notlimited, recipients (original and carbon-copied), time and date of theemail in the header section 3025. The more option 3032 is similar to themore option 2940 described above with respect to FIG. 29C.

FIG. 30A also illustrates a expand gesture in the application view 504associated with the email thread 506B, according to one embodiment. Theexpand gesture with contact 3034 is similar or the same as the expandgesture with contact 926 previously described in FIG. 9A. In oneembodiment, the expand gesture includes a tap on the thread headerelement 3022 to expand the thread header element for including sendernames of the email thread. Alternatively, the expand gesture withcontact 3034 includes a swipe in a direction substantially perpendicularto the subject line of the thread header element 3022. For example, thecontact 3034 is detected by the device at an initial position on thethread header element 3022. The contact 3034 is maintained and dragged athreshold distance from the initial position to a second position on topof an email thread 506 displayed in the thread section 3012 in acontinuous movement without breaking contact with the touch screen 112of the device 100, as shown in FIG. 30A. In another embodiment, insteadof a threshold distance, the expand gesture includes dragging thecontact at a threshold rate on top of the thread section 3012 displayedin the application view 504. Thus, the contact 3034 is maintained anddragged at a rate in a direction substantially perpendicular to thesubject line of the thread header element 3022. In other embodiments,other properties of the maintained contact 3034 are evaluated for theexpand gesture besides distance and rate are strength of pressure of thecontact or number of contact points.

FIG. 30B illustrates thread header element being expanded to display alist of sender names in the email thread 506B in response to the expandgesture with contact 3034 being detected by the device 100, as shown inFIG. 30A, according to one embodiment. This embodiment is automaticallyshown in the first instance of the conversation view. In one embodiment,the displayed names in the list include only the first and last sendernames in the email thread 506B. Other embodiments of the displayed namesof participants are described above with respect to FIGS. 29B and 29C.The order of first and last name as shown may vary and can be selectedby the user of the email application as an option. In one embodiment,the order is alphabetically, in another embodiment the order is based onthe time and date of the last email message received from theparticipant with one latest in time and date listed first. In addition,senders added to the email thread by the user are indicated by a “+”sign in front of their displayed names, and senders excluded by the userhave their displayed names crossed out as illustrated in FIG. 30B. Ifthe list of sender names in the email thread 506B requires more than twolines to be displayed in thread participants section 3024 of the threadheader element 3022, the section 3022 includes a more option that allowsfor displaying additional lines including participant names of the listnot displayed in the first two lines as described with respect to FIG.29C.

FIG. 31 illustrates a radio button to toggle between conversation viewand message view. If the conversation view option 3100 is toggled on, athread header element 3022 in the thread section 3012 of the applicationview 504 is displayed as described above with respect to FIGS. 29A-E,30A, and 30B, whereas otherwise no thread header element is displayed(message view).

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method for displaying email messages in anemail thread in a conversation view interfaces of an email application,according to one embodiment. The email application first selects 3205 aconversation view in a messaging application that is configured todisplay a plurality of email messages in the conversation view. Theemail application then identifies 3210 in the plurality of emailmessages a conversation thread that comprises email messages from theplurality of email messages. The email application also determines 3215information common to the email messages in the conversation thread. Thecommon information comprises a conversation title based at least in parton a subject of at least one or more email messages in the conversationthread. Next, the email application displays 3320 a header comprisingthe common information in a header portion of the conversation view, anddisplays 3225, visually distinguished from the header area, a messagearea that comprises two or more of the email messages in theconversation thread. Each of the two or more email messages comprisessender information and content information.

Search Result Groups in an Email UI

FIG. 33A illustrates an application view 504 of an email application anda “pull-down” gesture, according to one embodiment. The application view504 displays email messages or email threads 506A, 506B 506C, 506D, 506Efrom the inbox or any other mailbox of the user's email account, asdescribed in FIGS. 5B and 11A. The pull-down gesture with contact 3310includes a swipe in a direction substantially perpendicular to textlines in the email messages or threads. For example, the contact 3310 isdetected by the device 100 at an initial position on the email message506A. The contact 3310 is maintained and dragged a threshold distancefrom the initial position to a second position on top of an emailmessage or thread 506 displayed in the application view 504 in acontinuous movement without breaking contact with the touch screen 112of the device 100, as shown in FIG. 33A. In another embodiment, insteadof a threshold distance, the pull-down gesture includes dragging thecontact at a threshold rate on top of the email messages or threads 506displayed in the application view 504. Thus, the contact 3310 ismaintained and dragged at a rate in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the text lines in the email messages or threads. Inother embodiments, other properties of the maintained contact 3310 areevaluated for the pull-down gesture besides distance and rate arestrength of pressure of the contact or number of contact points.

As illustrated in FIG. 33B, responsive to the detected contact 3310 andpull-down gesture, the application view 504 of the email applicationdisplays additional user interface elements in the application view 504above the displayed email message 2920A. These additional user interfaceelements include a search box 3320 and a select-mailbox option 3330above email message 506A, according to one embodiment. Alternatively,the additional user interface elements including a search box 3320 aredisplayed in the first instance of application view 504. Theselect-mailbox option 3330 allows the user to select between searchingall mailboxes of the email application and searching only the currentmail box. The current mail box is the mailbox of which email messages orthreads are displayed in the application view 504. Contact (not shown),including a tap, detected by the device 100 on the section labelled “AllMailboxes” toggles the selection of all mailboxes on, whereas contact onthe “Current Mailbox”-labeled section toggles the selection of only thecurrent mailbox on. The selected (toggled on) mailbox option 3340 isvisibly distinguished from the unselected option. For example, selectedmailbox option has a darker background color than the unselected one.

Contact 3350 is detected by the device 100 on a search text inputelement 3360 in the search box 3320. The contact 3350 includes, but isnot limited to, a tap on the input element 3350. Responsive to thedetected contact 3350, a search string composition interface or draft UI3370 is shown as illustrated in FIG. 33C, according to one embodiment.As displayed, the draft UI 3370 is displayed on top of the applicationview 504. In one embodiment the draft UI 3370 can be displayed at a fullwidth equal to the width of the touchscreen 112. The draft UI is used toinput a search text 3372 into the search text input element 3360. In theexample shown in FIG. 33C the search text “Lore” is inputted into thesearch text input element 3360 by the user.

Responsive to inputting a search text, the email application searchesfor matches within email messages of a selected mailbox. The mailbox isselected based on the select-mailbox option 3330. Email messages in theselected mailbox that contain matches to the search text areautomatically separated into different search result groups based on thelocation of the search term in the email. The search result groupsinclude query result groups based on the sender information, recipientinformation, subject matter, and message body, labelled “From,” “To/Cc,”“Subject,” and “Message,” respectively. Association of an email messagecontaining a match with a search result group is based on whether thematched text is part of the sender information, recipient information,subject matter, or message body, respectively. For example, if thematched text is found within the sender information, the correspondingemail message is associated the search result group based on senderinformation (e.g., “From”). Thus, each query result groups isrepresentative of where the matched text is located in an email message.If the matched text occurs in multiple locations within an emailmessage, e.g. the sender information and the message body, the emailmessage is associated with each corresponding search result group. Othersearch result groups can be defined by the user, for example, based ondate, attachment size, sender location or any other attribute or fieldavailable in the email message.

As illustrated in FIGS. 33C-E, responsive to a search for matches withinemail messages of a selected mailbox, the application view 504 of theemail application displays the matched email messages in search resultgroups 3374A, 3374B, 3374C, and 3374D. Each search result group 3374 hasa header element 3375. Each header element 3375A, 3375B, 3375C, and3375D displays its corresponding label, i.e. “From,” “To/Cc,” “Subject,”and “Message,” respectively. Displayed text of the matched emailmessages in the application view 504 is visibly distinguished from otherdisplayed text of the email messages. For example, the matched text isdisplayed in bold, black font, whereas the other text is displayed inregular, greyed-out font, as illustrated in FIGS. 33C-E.

FIG. 33D further illustrates a scrolling gesture 3385 for scrolling thesearch result groups and matched email messages within the applicationview 504. The scrolling gesture 3385 is applied in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the text lines of the displayed emailmessages, as shown in FIG. 33D. Applying this scrolling gesture displayssearch result groups and their email messages that follow the emailmessage 3386 that is displayed at the bottom of the application view504. Once these subsequent search result groups and their email messagesare displayed reversing the direction of the scrolling gesture displayssearch result groups and their email messages that precede the currentlydisplayed search result groups and email messages.

Only up to three email messages that match the search text are initiallydisplayed for each search result group in the application view 504. Ifmore than three email messages are included in a search result group, amore option 3387, labelled for example “Show More Results,” is displayedat the bottom of the corresponding search result group in theapplication view 504. The more option 3387 allows for displayingadditional email messages included in the corresponding search resultgroup and not already displayed. In response to an option gestureincluding a tap (not shown), the more option 3387 displays thoseadditional email messages within its search result group. The moreoption 3387 is similar to the more option 2940 described above withrespect to FIG. 29C. With the display of all the email messages within asearch result group the more option 3387 is no longer displayed in theapplication view 504. Instead of the more option, a hide option 3388 isdisplayed in the application view 504, as shown in FIG. 33E. The hideoption 3388 is similar to the hide option 2944 described above withrespect to FIG. 29D, and in response to an option gesture including atap (not shown), only three email messages are displayed with theremaining email messages of the search result group are hidden fromdisplay.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of a method for searching email messages inmessages view interfaces of an email application, according to oneembodiment. The email application receives 3410 a search query thatcomprises at least one term for searching email messages in a messagingapplication. In response to receiving the search query, the emailapplication determines 3415 whether one or more email messages in themessaging application include the at least one search term. Next, theemail application determines 3420, for each of the one or more emailmessages in the messaging application including the search term, a fieldwhere the search term is found within the email message. When the emailapplication determines the field, the search term can appear in one ormore of a plurality of different, predetermined locations. The emailapplication then displays 3425 one or more email message query resultgroups, each of which is based on a different predetermined location andcomprises the one or more email messages in the messaging applicationincluding the search term in the corresponding predetermined location.

The disclosure herein has been described in particular detail withrespect to one possible embodiment. Those of skill in the art willappreciate that other embodiments may be practiced. First, theparticular naming of the components and variables, capitalization ofterms, the attributes, data structures, or any other programming orstructural aspect is not mandatory or significant, and the mechanismsthat implement the invention or its features may have different names,formats, or protocols. Also, the particular division of functionalitybetween the various system components described herein is merelyexemplary, and not mandatory; functions performed by a single systemcomponent may instead be performed by multiple components, and functionsperformed by multiple components may instead performed by a singlecomponent.

Some portions of above description present features in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information.These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used bythose skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. These operations,while described functionally or logically, are understood to beimplemented by computer programs. Furthermore, it has also provenconvenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations asmodules or by functional names, without loss of generality.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the abovediscussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description,discussions utilizing terms such as “determining” or “displaying” or thelike, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similarelectronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms datarepresented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computersystem memories or registers or other such information storage,transmission or display devices.

Certain aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein include processsteps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. Itshould be noted that the process steps and instructions could beembodied in software, firmware or hardware, and when embodied insoftware, could be downloaded to reside on and be operated fromdifferent platforms used by real time network operating systems.

The algorithms and operations presented herein are not inherentlyrelated to any particular computer or other apparatus. Variousgeneral-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordancewith the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct morespecialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The requiredstructure for a variety of these systems will be apparent to those ofskill in the art, along with equivalent variations. In addition, thepresent invention is not described with reference to any particularprogramming language. It is appreciated that a variety of programminglanguages may be used to implement the teachings of the presentinvention as described herein, and any references to specific languagesare provided for invention of enablement and best mode of the presentinvention.

The embodiments disclosed herein are well suited to a wide variety ofcomputer network systems over numerous topologies. Within this field,the configuration and management of large networks includes storagedevices and computers that are communicatively coupled to dissimilarcomputers and storage devices over a network, such as the Internet.

Finally, it should be noted that the language used in the specificationhas been principally selected for readability and instructionalpurposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribethe inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure herein isintended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of theinvention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising: at anelectronic device with a touch-sensitive surface and display: displayinga list comprising information corresponding to a plurality of emailmessages; detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive surface; detectingcontinuous movement of the contact in a first direction, withoutbreaking contact with the touch-sensitive surface, at a location on thedisplay corresponding to a message of the plurality of email messages;determining one or more parameters of the movement of the contact; inaccordance with a determination that a parameter of the movement meets afirst criterion, displaying a plurality of user interface elementsrepresenting actions to be taken on the email message; and in accordancewith a determination that the parameter of the movement meets a secondcriterion different from the first criterion, performing a defaultaction on the email message.